The Thunder got its first look at Zion Williamson on Thursday night and came out alive. OKC beat the Pelicans 123-118 despite a monster game from Zion, the rookie from Duke billed as perhaps the greatest prospect since LeBron James.
I would put Anthony Davis on that list, too, but no reason to quibble.
Zion scored 32 points against the Thunder, 15 in the first half and 17 in the second half. He played 31-1/2 minutes, made 11 of 19 shots, seemed to draw a whistle every 30 seconds and made 10 of 13 foul shots. Zion also had six rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot that probably was goal-tending.