Last night, the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils faced off against their longtime rivals University of North Carolina Tar Heels, with all eyes concentrated on freshman sensation Zion Williamson, who’s a favorite to be selected with the top pick of this year’s upcoming NBA draft.
With a packed house in the Cameron Indoor Stadium, the stage was set for one of the most exciting nights in college hoops — except things didn’t go completely as planned. Within just 33 seconds of action, Williamson attempted a spin move with his left foot that prompted to him ripping right through the midsole of his Nike PG 2.5. Williamson instantly collapsed and clutched his leg in pain, which caused him to miss the remainder of the game.
Zion's shoe: destroyed ? pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019
Naturally, this unfortunate incident promptly turned into one of the most talk-about topics of last night. Some of the notable names that chimed in to show their support for Williamson yesterday including high-caliber NBA players like LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell, and even former President Barack Obama, who was in attendance of the game. Check out some of the reactions down below:
Hope young fella is ok! Literally blew thru his ?. ??
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 21, 2019
Again let’s remember all the money that went into this game…. and these players get none of it…. and now Zion gets hurt… something has to change @NCAA
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) February 21, 2019
Zion Williamson seems like an outstanding young man as well as an outstanding basketball player. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 21, 2019
According to Action Network’s Darren Rovell on Twitter, Nike issued a statement after the game: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
NIKE STATEMENT: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
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