Duke’s Zion Williamson suffers knee injury after shoe explodes under his own power

Duke freshman phenom Zion Williamson is out with a knee injury after exploding through his shoe 36 seconds into the game vs. UNC.

36 seconds into the Duke-North Carolina game, Zion Williamson exploded out of his shoe and left the game with a knee injury. Duke’s Sports Information Director relayed to the ESPN broadcast that Williamson would not return with a knee injury.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1098404362148208640

The biggest attraction in the sport and the likely No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft sat on the bench for a few moments before leaving for the locker room. ESPN’s Maria Taylor initially reported during the broadcast that Williamson got a new pair of shoes and was “testing something out” as he moved from the hallway and back into the locker room.

This was such a freakish event and could have serious ACC championship and NCAA Tournament implications, but the big concern is the health of Williamson for the long-term.

This injury and how long he’ll be out will increase the conversation that Williamson should just shut it down and get ready for the NBA Draft and not risk any further injury. With no further information other than it’s a knee injury, fans have to hope that wasn’t his last college basketball game.

Tickets for the rivalry game between the No. 1 and No. 8 teams in the country were higher than normal because of the draw that is the rivalry, but especially the draw that is Williamson. Barack Obama, Ken Griffey, Jr and Spike Lee were among the celebrities in attendance for the game, but less than a minute into the game, the biggest attraction was gone.

Hopefully, for college basketball, that’s not the last fans will see of Zion Williamson.