Progress isn’t linear for every NBA star—development can be circuitous and unpredictable for a variety of reasons—but through league history the third year is when so many all-time greats made a massive leap forward. It’s when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis established themselves as marquee draws and household names, with statistical surges that occurred as their responsibilities and expectations grew.
It might sound rash to compare Zion Williamson with those aforementioned megastars, but the prodigious 21-year-old is on the same path. As he enters Year 3 of a career that has little more than cobwebs for a roof—despite a bit of murkiness concerning his recovery from offseason foot surgery—Williamson’s ascension toward life as a solution-less offensive weapon may be the 2021–22 season’s most significant subplot.