Zion Williamson officially made his NBA debut last night as the New Orleans Pelicans faced off against the San Antonio Spurs.

Williamson missed half of the season, a whopping 44 games, due to a knee injury. Williamson was the number one prospect coming out of high school and the number one prospect coming out of college. His phenomenal season at Duke University earned him a spot as the number one draft pick of the 2019 NBA draft.

Fans of the 19 year old patiently awaited for this day to come. Williamson did participate in the NBA Summer League and played a few preseason games but it was nothing mind boggling.

It was a slow start for Williamson, who had only scored five points heading into the fourth quarter. Mark Jackson even went as far to say that Williamson looked “out of shape” and claimed he would rather take Memphis Grizzlies rising star point guard, Ja Morant. Williamson only had 4 minutes of playing time at this point of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Williamson exploded, scoring 17 points and going 4-4 from the 3-point line. Williamson checked out with 5:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. He seemed frustrated that he checked out so early and fans were just as disappointed. The fans kept on shouting “We want Zion!” but Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry made it clear he would not be returning.

Williamson finished with 22 points, while shooting 8-of-11 from the field, while also adding 7 rebounds and 3 assists in only 18 minutes of playing time. Teammate Brandon Ingram, who’s been having himself a phenomenal season added 22 points of his own with 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Pelicans did end up losing to the San Antonio Spurs with the final score being 121-117, however it was still a great night to be a Pelicans fan as they finally got to see their #1 pick in action for the first time in months and in his official NBA debut. Now the question that remains is, will Zion Williamson live up to the hype?