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We’re already in the middle of the off-season, so I’ll just mention five memorable players from the ’90s: Glen Rice, Armen Gilliam, Nick Van Exel, Hersey Hawkins and Dale Davis.

Skinny Zion?!

Best shape of his life: Zion Williamson?

You know what season it is. Sure, it’s football season soon. And we know fall is just around the corner. Yes, baseball season is on its way to the playoffs. But that’s not the season I’m referring to. Soon, as the offseason winds down, we’ll be gearing up for NBA training camp, which means we look at two different paths of “he’s in the best shape of his life”: someone who has gained 4 to 7 kilos of muscle or someone who has lost a total of 11 kilos.

And the player we’ve been waiting for when it comes to this topic is Zion Williamson. The Pelicans star dazzles us to no end when he’s actually playing, but his fitness and injury history have prevented that from being a constant. Well, guess what? Williamson was recently at a basketball camp in South Carolina, so we got a glimpse of him in… THE BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE.

WHOA! Look at Williamson! This is lawful the best shape of his life. Now… I did a little digging. And by digging I mean I searched Twitter. This photo is a little crooked because Williamson has his neck stretched high. He doesn’t look that skinny this videoBut he still looks like he’s in incredible shape. That is the main conclusion.

The last time we saw Williamson, he was destroying the Lakers in a play-in battle for the No. 7 seed. He had scored 40 points and 11 rebounds against them before being forced off the court with 3:13 left in the game due to a season-ending hamstring injury. It was the culmination of a turnaround season for the 24-year-old that has seen him play some unreal basketball. Williamson’s stepfather tells People the two-time All-Star is now 281 pounds, with a goal of 272 when the season starts. His playing weight at Duke was 285, and he’s been rumored to be over 300 for a while now.

What does this mean? Will Williamson jump even higher? Will his body hold up better with less stress? Will he be as strong on the high bar as the wrecking ball he’s always been? Did everyone see this and immediately bet on Zion for 2025 MVP (+10K at BetMGM)? It’s Zion SZN, my fellow Bouncers!

More about Zion: Who will help him save the Pelicans?

The latest news from Shams

Suns and Pelicans make moves

The Suns are releasing forwards Nassir Little and EJ Liddell, league sources tell me. By releasing both, the Suns free up a roster spot and create flexibility for potential midseason transfers. The Suns will stretch out the remaining three years and $22 million on Little’s deal. I’ve heard Phoenix officials are excited about rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, and the releases provide more opportunities for both to contribute more next season.

The Pelicans and free-agent wing Javonte Green are finalizing one-year contracts, according to league sources, with a league source telling Will Guillory it’s a fully guaranteed minimum deal. It’s a strong addition to New Orleans’ depth, as Green averaged 12.2 points in 25.6 minutes a night in nine games to close out last season with the Bulls.

Take the leap

Fifteen third-year players break through

I don’t believe second-year players should be considered for Most Improved Player. That award needs a little bit of breathing room from your first time in the NBA until you really get it together. Someone is going to talk about Victor Wembanyama for MIP this coming season, and it’s just absurd to think about it. Yes, you’re supposed to improve every year up until your prime, but you’re special should improve between the first and second seasons of your career.

In the third year, a jump starts to give more of an indication of what a player can become. As we look ahead to the 2024-25 season, I wanted to highlight a few third-year players who may really start to take the form we’ve come to expect over the next 10 years. I have 15 players entering their third year, broken down into four different tiers of what we can/should expect.

Future stars

• Paolo Banchero, Orlando: The Magic cornerstone is already a monster, leading his team to 47 wins and the No. 5 seed last season. He is a 3-point shooting away (33.9 percent last season, 36.5 percent before the All-Star break) from being unguarded.
• Jalen Williams, OKC: I would argue he is the second best player in OKC and almost an All-Star/All-NBA player. His game has no flaws.

Future Star Players

• Jabari Smith Jr., Houston: If that 3-pointer from last season is the norm, JSJ is the perfect complement to what Houston has in Alperen Şengün.
• Keegan Murray, Sacramento: He’s going to be a great defender and was already a feared shooter, if he dribbles more watch out.
• Jalen Düren, Detroit: He doesn’t score from further than 3 meters, but he is a rebound machine who can score well and create chances for others.
• Tari Eason, Houston: His season was cut short, but he’s a dynamic wing on both sides of the ball. Houston needs to play him more.

Boys who need to recover

• Shaedon Sharpe, Portland: He only played 32 games last season, but we know there’s a dynamic scorer in there somewhere.
• Peyton Watson, Denver: His postseason playing time disappeared. Now the Nuggets desperately need him in the rotation.
• Dyson Daniels, Atlanta: The Hawks need him healthy now and they need his defense badly.
• Mark Williams, Charlotte: Had a great start to last season but didn’t play after December 8th.

Guys who can seriously enter 💰 territory

• Jaden Ivey, Detroit: Monty Williams is no longer in his way, but he has to play like he did in January and February (17.6 points per game, 38.8 percent from long range).
• Benedict Mathurin, Indiana: Stay healthy and keep shooting above average from long range, he’ll get paid ridiculously much for it if that happens.
• Walker Kessler, Utah: Remember when the Jazz won the Rudy Gobert trade because of him? Bring back That Kessler.
• Christian Braun, Denver: The Nuggets are a bit cheap, but Braun replaces KCP at the shooting guard position.
• Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio: I don’t want him to play point, but he’s just one player away from hundreds of millions of dollars.

Thursday in Review

SLAM Magazine deserves Hall of Fame status

While some people remember the first time they saw a Playboy Magazine, I remember the first time I saw a SLAM Magazine. Okay, I also remember the first time I saw a Playboy. The barbershop I went to as a kid had them everywhere. Shoutout to Mike the Barber. But this is about SLAM! I vividly remember being at Tower Books in 1995 when I was 13. The back wall was right next to where the cash registers were. At 13, I was definitely not going to be a book reading nerd! So I went to the magazine section and grabbed a Street and Smith or a Sports Illustrated.

Then I saw it. Tim Hardaway and Latrell Sprewell look up at me. A dark background around them. The menacing light above them. The look from Sprewell and Hardaway that said, “You’re in trouble.” Worn-out font with big, bold letters for “SLAM,” which looked like letters you might find on real asphalt. At the top it said, “The In Your Face Basketball Magazine.” It came with a double-sided poster. Alonzo Mourning on one side. Shawn Kemp on the other. It was designed to be torn out of the magazine and stuck on your wall. This was a perfect lure for a teenage basketball nerd.

That wasn’t all. For some reason, last month’s issue was also on hiatus. It featured John Starks. Michael Jordan and Dr. J teamed up for the poster in that issue. I barely had enough money to buy both. Shortly after, I was begging for a subscription. I read those magazines cover to cover. I probably even memorized the bar codes at some point. Over the next few decades, SLAM has been a huge inspiration for my career as a basketball media contributor.

They were different. They were not conventional. They celebrated the game without being cheesy or acting out to the NBA and its players. It was young. It was hip hop. It was basketball. It was streetball. It was highlights. It was how my friends and I talked about basketball, but in a far more articulate way. It was something to strive for.

Jason Jones wrote about SLAM Magazine being honored this year with the Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award from the Dr. James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. I couldn’t be more excited or grateful to SLAM for shaping the way the game is covered. All that slick journalism, which had its place and still does, was offset by oversized basketball shorts, D-bands and a passion for the culture of the game.

I can’t thank SLAM enough for providing an alternative way to cover basketball. I probably wouldn’t have had the career I have today without its influence on the game’s media. This is a Hall of Fame publication, through and through. Kudos to SLAM and the countless walls its pages and posters have covered for decades. 🫡

Bouncing steps

Mike Vorkunov brought his NBA 40 under 40 listwith the best young players in the competition trainers, managers, administrators And Influencers.

Most clicked in Monday’s newsletter: The 35 games I’m most looking forward to the upcoming season.

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(Top photo: Victor Boyko/Getty )