In a recent interview with GQ, Zion Williamson revealed how Naruto, a popular manga and anime show, has inspired him throughout his career.
GQ wrote a profile on Williamson, following him as he attended and spoke at a Comic-Con panel dedicated to Naruto.
“Williamson talks about Naruto with the same reverence with which other NBA players talk about the Bible—it brings comfort and clarity in equal parts,” Tres Dean writes in the profile.
The 22-year-old power forward stumbled across the show when he was five and his regular Cartoon Network show switched over to Naruto. Later in life, he began to see similarities between Naruto’s journey and his own.
Growing up, Williamson was coached by his step-father Lee Anderson who believed he could become the best player in the world. Williamson didn’t see what Anderson saw but was reminded of how very few masters took Naruto seriously when he first started training. Then at 16, Williamson grabbed the attention of the basketball world.
“Sure enough, I’m 16 years old and suddenly all of the attention starts coming. I remember thinking, Yo, that’s crazy. That’s exactly when it happened for Naruto, and it’s when it’s happening for me,” he told GQ.
Williamson has been struggling with injuries this past year of his career. Fans and the media have questioned whether or not he’ll live up to his potential.
The NBA star likened this moment in his career to a moment when Naruto has to deal with his friend Sasuke going rogue.
“All of Naruto’s friends and teammates came to him like, ‘Dude, you’re gonna have to make tough decisions if you really want to be Hokage,’” Williamson told GQ.
“And Naruto, he started hyperventilating because that’s a lot of pressure. He’s just a kid, and that’s his friend, you know? He really cared for him. And all anyone was telling him was that he needed to handle it, to take him down. Nobody ever asked him how he felt…” he continued.
According to GQ, Williamson estimated that 80% of the NBA watches anime. Over the past few years, several NBA players have shown their love for anime.
In 2016, Steve Adams said he was watching “One Piece” on the NBA’s opening night instead of the Spurs-Warriors game.
In 2017, Sacramento Kings player De’Aaron Fox gave a shout-out to anime fans who were watching “Dragon Ball Super” in Japanese.
In 2018, Joel Embiid was seen watching anime while preparing for Game 1 in the playoffs.
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