![ZionWilliamson - cropped](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 450"></svg>)
Zion Williamson dunked so hard during the NBA Rising Stars Challenge that he broke the backboard but jokingly suggested it may not have been his fault.
The rim was left askew after the New Orleans Pelicans rookie threw down a pass from Trae Young late in the second quarter of Team USA's 151-127 defeat of Team World at the United Center on Friday.
Arena staff at the venue for this year's All-Star festivities had to re-align everything during half-time, when Williamson discovered what had happened from team-mates.
Asked if he realised what he had done, Williamson said: "Not at all. I went into half-time and my team-mates started telling me about it.
"I don't know which dunk it was on, but I don't think it was me!"
"There's your rim. It's been Zion'd" pic.twitter.com/uSMAi8WEJY
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 15, 2020
The first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and Ja Morant, who played together for AAU team the South Carolina Hornets in 2014, caught the eye with some sensational plays.
Morant produced a through-the-legs alley-oop pass for a Williamson slam, but it was a different sequence that caused the Pelicans star to reflect on how far he and his former team-mate have come.
Asked for his favourite moment from the game, Williamson responded: "When Ja threw me the lob from half court. Reminisced on that, back to ninth grade.
"It was crazy honestly because after I caught it and we got a timeout or subbed out, I was thinking about our Hornets days and never in a million years would I have thought would we have been in this game or be in the situations we're in, so it would've been that moment."
Ja and Zion are connecting on some RIDICULOUS oops in #NBARisingStars.: TNT pic.twitter.com/UktRuvR97z
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2020
The old AAU connection from half-court! pic.twitter.com/k3xamlMpuT
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 15, 2020
Prior to taking to the floor, Williamson met Barack Obama at an NBA Cares event in Chicago and explained why he developed a newfound appreciation for the former United States president.
"First off he's a cool dude man, it's Obama, c'mon," said Williamson. "I gained so much more respect for him just by him saying that [he kept up with my games].
"I was like you probably have one of the most busy schedules and you're able to keep up with a rookie, superstars, college people, even high school people, and tell them their stats, what they've been doing good, what they can work on.
"When he told me that I just gained so much more respect for him."
President @BarackObama & the @ObamaFoundation surprised the #NBARisingStars & local Chicago students at this morning’s @NBACares Day of Service! pic.twitter.com/6tLJLLOTGT
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2020
Williamson was not born until after Michael Jordan had led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, but he still has a great respect for the 14-time All-Star's exploits.
"It was my mom that led me to watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls. I asked her when I first started playing who should I go watch and she told me Jordan, [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson]," he said.
"I think I started with Magic, I was like man he can pass the ball. Bird, he can shoot and is an all-around player but when I got to Jordan she told me to watch full games, not highlights.
"I watched full games and as a kid the stuff he was doing was incredible to watch. Getting a steal, saving it and then doing a backwards layup or floating through the lane through three people, dunking it.
"So as a kid that really caught my attention and from then I just watched every full game Michael Jordan clip I could find."
Published 15 Feb 2020, 15:04 IST