Feb 2, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket while defended by San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Zion Williamson Drops Jaws With Poster Dunk on Victor Wembanyama

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Jared Knobloch | Last updated Oct 24, 2025 9:23 PM ET

As the NBA continues its wild opening week, the New Orleans Pelicans match up with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Zion Williamson and Victor Wembanyama — two young superstars, carrying into the next generation of NBA stardom — are the marquee talents of the contest. Though Wembanyama has a solid 10 inches in height over Williamson, that didn't stop him from putting an insane highlight into this very early NBA season.

Zion Posters Wembanyama

On the literal first play of the game, Williamson took the ball and drove left towards the basket, where he met Wembanyama at the rim. Luckily for the Pelicans forward, he had the right angle and dunked it straight over Wembanyama to the amazement of the crowd.

ZION DUNKS ON WEMBY ON THE FIRST PLAY OF THE GAME pic.twitter.com/S9pxc2vyMO
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 25, 2025

Considering Wembanyama's 7-foot-4 height, posterizing him is no easy feat. It takes an insanely athletic player to achieve that, which kind of makes it no surprise Williamson's name is on the poster.

Reactions from the dunk were mixed because while Wembanyama did get postered, he was able to get his "get-back" by blocking Williamson's other shots.

Zion Williamson: um dos melhores jogadores da NBA atacando a cesta.

Victor Wembanyama: mal precisa sair do chão pra dar um toco nele.
pic.twitter.com/mMpPTrO5gC
— Matchup Brasil (@MatchupBR) October 25, 2025

Others were absolutely blown away, saying things like "Not going to lie, that was tough. Duke Zion is back."

The New Look Zion

Despite everything taking place in this game, to see what the Pelicans star is doing compared to the last few seasons is good.

Getting off to a good start, the coaches are pleased with where he's at health-wise, and more. When Williamson's weight loss was visible during the offseason, fans and media speculated what this could do for him and the organization.

Zion Williamson weighs 264 lbs, the lightest he has weighed since being drafted in 2019, per @mikecwright

He is listed as 284 lbs on https://t.co/50ZWc1z2ku but has been shedding weight this season pic.twitter.com/N1cA2cGavG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 24, 2025

While the Pelicans did lose their first game of the season to the Memphis Grizzlies, they still have 81 more opportunities to get wins and climb the standings. That starts with this game against San Antonio.

They'll need this type of Williamson if they want to compete for the playoffs. They have a good squad — newly acquired Jordan Poole, another year of Trey Murphy III, and once Dejounte Murray comes back — and they could be much better with his skillset being available.

Williamson is the head of the snake for this New Orleans team. Three days in a poster dunk on one of the league's best defensive players is definitely a statement. If Williamson and the Pelicans can keep this effort up, teams will be forced to take them more seriously, and quite frankly, as they should.

This article first appeared on New Orleans Pelicans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: