Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone is one of the greatest basketball talents to ever play the game. He is a two-time NBA MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star, and 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. His track record speaks for itself. He knows the sport like few others.
This week, Malone appeared on the Knuckleheads Podcast with Darius Miles & Quentin Richardson to discuss a number of topics. One of the most intriguing things he touched on was a point made by Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis regarding Zion Williamson.
“One of the reasons why I stopped playing was because of my weight,” Davis told TMZ. “He [Williamson] has to get his weight under control.”
Malone agreed with that assessment.
“Guys, I love Zion Williamson,” he said.
“We might not ever know his full potential. There was a young man who played at LSU – [Glen] ‘Big Baby’ Davis – Big Baby made a comment about eight months ago. And he came on that show and he said ‘Hey now, guys, I’m about to get into trouble with what I’m about to say.
“I know everybody loves Zion and I love him too. But Zion has the same body type that I got.’ He was talking about himself. And [Davis] said, ‘If [Williamson] don’t get into shape, we’ll never know his full potential.’ And he did get heat for that. But guess what guys, he needs to be averaging 40 minutes a game. You are a 21-22-year-old kid, your a-- shouldn’t be getting tired.”
So far this season Williamson is averaging 22.6 points and 8.3 rebounds through the first 11 games of the season. He has played in all but one of his team’s regular-season outings. If he can continue to do well and restore some semblance of respectability to the New Orleans Pelicans, then all this chatter about his weight will go away.
But if he can’t continue playing good basketball and a repeat of last season happens, don’t be surprised if Williamson’s weight becomes a popular topic of conversation.
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