Zion Williamson Weight - Should he slim up for the NBA?

[Wigginstime]

Zion Williamson is a freak athlete weighing almost 285lbs at 6'7". His unique combination of strength, speed, and explosiveness is tearing apart the NCAA. Zion looks more like a body builder than any traditional NBA player. In terms of his physical physique he dwarfs even the most muscular players in NBA history such as
Karl Malone 6'9" 260
Lebron James 6'8" 250
Zion Williamson 6'7" 285

Clearly he knows how to use his physique to dominate the NCAA. Will his body builder physique hold up in the NBA or should he try to slim up a bit to get to a size similar to Lebron James or Draymond Green?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjK69_C6bvgAhULCXwKHQWeAVIQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2019%2F01%2Fzion-williamson-duke-scottie-pippen&psig=AOvVaw2dn0oypmuzx_cVnxAW6OQ3&ust=1550254306151375

[kobe_vs_jordan]

Slim up for what? He has a football build on a basketball court.

[Mamba Mentality]

You realize Zion would have to drop like 50 lbs to get to Draymonds weight right?

[Mr Loggins]

nooooo...if jared sullinger taught us anything is fat guys should stay fat

[Cartuse]

Slim up for what? He has a football build on a basketball court.

For playing for more than 3 years maybe?

[Johnny Bball]

I"m not sure why everyone assumes he's 285. He got down to 250 already so he's very likely somewhere in between. I'm not sure he even is 285 and it's not a bit of image management, since that's pretty heavy.

[ChiCitySPORTS#1]

If he slims down, its only for him to play the 3. Otherwise, if he's a short 4, he's fine.

[Forbes]

Whatever weight he is at now, I’d just leave him be. He looks fine and unaffected by the weight. It’s when they start trying to play with certain types of players weight is when I get concerned. The man is powerful and built like he was born to withstand anything.

[AdagioPace]

he doesn't have Malone's or Lebron's "Dad strenght" though . Honestly, If he can use his weight to his advantage in the most efficient way in the NBA then he should keep the "extra-gear". The first experiences with the NBA will tell him what to sacrifice.

[Hullajelolt]

nooooo...if jared sullinger taught us anything is fat guys should stay fat

And we all know how Sullinger's career is standing after injuries despite being only 26.

[RCM88x]

Eh, he's probably fine. Maybe drop 10-15 lbs just with better NBA conditioning, but weight shouldn't be a worry for him at this point.

[kobe_vs_jordan]

Slim up for what? He has a football build on a basketball court.

For playing for more than 3 years maybe?

Why assume he body couldn't support his weight? He has an elite body frame.

[kobe_vs_jordan]

nooooo...if jared sullinger taught us anything is fat guys should stay fat

Zion is fat?

[Yungsta404]

Wasnt it reveal that Lebron’s true weight during his miami days was actually 280?

Zion’s weight is fine.

[evitcanI]

Zion Williams is a freak athlete weighing almost 285lbs at 6'7". His unique combination of strength, speed, and explosiveness is tearing apart the NCAA. Zion looks more like a body builder than any traditional NBA player. In terms of his physical physique he dwarfs even the most muscular players in NBA history such as
Karl Malone 6'9" 260
Lebron James 6'8" 250
Zion Williamson 6'7" 285

Clearly he knows how to use his physique to dominate the NCAA. Will his body builder physique hold up in the NBA or should he try to slim up a bit to get to a size similar to Lebron James or Draymond Green?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjK69_C6bvgAhULCXwKHQWeAVIQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2019%2F01%2Fzion-williamson-duke-scottie-pippen&psig=AOvVaw2dn0oypmuzx_cVnxAW6OQ3&ust=1550254306151375

Those weights aren't really accurate. Lebron was 250 pounds as a rookie. There were reports in 2008 that he was up to 274. Windhorst has said that he was playing in the 270s in Miami. I'd guess that the same kind of thing is true for Malone; he was probably ~260 when he came into the league and the number wasn't updated as he got bigger.

That said, my intuition is that 285 is too big for a perimeter player. If he's enough of a freak maybe it can work, but he'll probably either have to lose some weight or be more of a faceup/stretch 4 and guard bigs.

[ThunderBolt]

Kind of hard to answer this question without knowing his body fat percentage.

[uberhikari]

Wasnt it reveal that Lebron’s true weight during his miami days was actually 280?

Zion’s weight is fine.

LeBron was never that big, he was more like 270. But LeBron was also much quicker and faster than Zion, especially on defense.

[Cartuse]

Slim up for what? He has a football build on a basketball court.

For playing for more than 3 years maybe?

Why assume he body couldn't support his weight? He has an elite body frame.

It's not about holding its weight, it's about absorbing the force of 280lbs coming down from WAY up, which results in way more than 280lbs of force

[pillwenney]

For playing for more than 3 years maybe?

Why assume he body couldn't support his weight? He has an elite body frame.

It's not about holding its weight, it's about absorbing the force of 280lbs coming down from WAY up, which results in way more than 280lbs of force

This would be my only concern. That's a lot of weight on those joints--especially when you're regularly launching high into the air like he does. Honestly, it's my biggest concern about him as a prospect.

[tbp82]

Yes