Zion Williamson
Age 26 · 6'6" · 284 lb · USA
Pick #1, 2019 Draft · Rookie 2020 · 276 games
DPM · #102 of 530
+1.0Game by game
Seismograph
DARKO updates every rating after every game. The lines show the rating going into each game; the bars show how much each game moved it, split into offense and defense.
- Season change
- -0.59
- +1.55 before the first game, +0.96 at the end
- Biggest boost
- +0.26
- Nov 24 vs CHI · 30 min
- Biggest drop
- -0.46
- Feb 4 vs MIL · 38 min
- Typical change per game
- 0.09
- Last 20 games, vs 0.13 in the first 20. Smaller changes mean each game moves DARKO's view less.
Historical comps
Comps & futures
The ten most similar player-seasons since 1996-97 at the same age, and what happened to them next.
+1.0 at age 25 in 2025-26 ranks 199th of 1,078 age-25 seasons since 1996-97. Closest match: Montrezl Harrell, 2018-19.
| Comp | Age | DPM then | Next 5 seasons | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montrezl Harrell 2018-19 | 25 | +1.1 | -0.1, -0.1, +1.5, -0.9, under 10 games | 89 |
| Richard Hamilton 2003-04 | 26 | +1.0 | +1.3, +0.8, +1.2, +1.3, +0.8 | 86 |
| Ruben Patterson 2000-01 | 25 | +1.1 | +0.7, +0.4, +0.3, +0.3, -0.9 | 85 |
| Bonzi Wells 2001-02 | 25 | +1.4 | +0.8, -1.5, -1.0, +1.1, -0.5 | 85 |
| Elton Brand 2003-04 | 25 | +1.0 | +2.7, +3.7, +3.4, under 10 games, +0.5 | 84 |
| Corey Maggette 2004-05 | 25 | +0.6 | +1.4, +1.2, +1.3, -0.6, -0.9 | 84 |
| Wally Szczerbiak 2001-02 | 25 | +0.9 | +1.1, +0.5, +0.5, +0.7, -0.5 | 84 |
| Carlos Boozer 2007-08 | 26 | +1.4 | -0.6, +0.7, -0.7, -1.1, -2.6 | 83 |
| Antoine Walker 2001-02 | 25 | +1.2 | +0.2, -1.8, -1.8, -0.9, -1.7 | 83 |
| Glenn Robinson 1997-98 | 25 | +0.7 | +2.4, +0.7, +1.2, +0.1, -1.0 | 83 |
The 25 player-seasons since 1996-97 closest to Zion's 2025-26 at the same age: DPM and its offense/defense split, the two seasons before, box-score profile, height, experience and age. Each comp counts once, at his closest season, weighted by the match. Hover or focus a comp to trace his next five seasons. A website presentation, not a DARKO model output.
Value
Contract & longevity
DARKO's fair salary from projected wins against Zion Williamson's salary, and the odds of still being on an NBA roster in each coming season.
- Fair value
- $20.5M
- DARKO's market estimate
- Salary
- $39.4M
- Actual
- Surplus
- -$18.9M
- Value minus salary
- Seasons left
- 4.6
- Projected
- Retires at
- 30.7
- Projected age
Career
Season by season
DPM going into each season's last game, since 1996-97.
| Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | DPM | Off | Def | For his age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | NOP | 25 | 62 | 29.7 | +0.96 | +1.54 | -0.58 | 199th of 1078 |
| 2024-25 | NOP | 24 | 30 | 28.6 | +1.45 | +1.60 | -0.15 | 133rd of 1185 |
| 2023-24 | NOP | 23 | 70 | 31.5 | +1.08 | +1.47 | -0.39 | 142nd of 1100 |
| 2022-23 | NOP | 22 | 29 | 33.0 | +2.15 | +2.59 | -0.44 | 38th of 813 |
| 2021-22 | NOP | 21 | 0 | — | +1.69 | +2.36 | -0.67 | — |
| 2020-21 | NOP | 20 | 61 | 33.2 | +1.83 | +2.70 | -0.87 | 9th of 354 |
| 2019-20 | NOP | 20 | 24 | 27.8 | +1.06 | +2.16 | -1.10 | 25th of 354 |
Games are regular season; +n are playoff games. "For his age" ranks the season's DPM among every season at the same age since 1996-97 with 20 or more games. A season's DPM opens the leaderboard on its last game day.
Projections
Projected box score
DARKO's per-100 projections, and per game at 28.4 projected minutes and a pace of 95.4.
| Stat | Per 100 | Per game |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 30.4 | 17.1 |
| Rebounds | 9.9 | 5.6 |
| Offensive | 3.4 | 1.9 |
| Defensive | 6.5 | 3.6 |
| Assists | 5.1 | 2.9 |
| Steals | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Blocks | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| Turnovers | 3.2 | 1.8 |
| 3-pt attempts | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| FG attempts | 19.9 | 11.2 |
| FT attempts | 10.1 | 5.7 |
| FG% · 3P% · FT% | 55.5% · 27.1% · 64.5% | |