During the first half of last night’s UNC vs. Duke game, freshman phenom Zion Willamson tore through his Nike PG 2.5 PE shoes.
Following the incident, Nike released the following statement to Front Office Sports:
“We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
Zion’s Nike shoe rip in slo-mo pic.twitter.com/UYQuoDMxq5
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
After the incident occurred, Twitter lit up with questions as to whether Duke’s star, who is expected by many to be the top overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, should return to the court this year.
if I'm Zion I walk off the court and never play again until someone pays me to. Eff all that.
— David Dennis Jr. (@DavidDTSS) February 21, 2019
Jay Willams even suggested that the injury is further proof that Zion, and other players like him, should be able to go straight from high school to the Draft.
This Zion Williamson injury is exactly why players should be able to go directly to the @nba from high school. The league needs to change this rule. PERIOD @GetUpESPN @espn
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) February 21, 2019
NBA players like Donovan Mitchell chimed in to offer their thoughts on the situation. Mitchell, in particular, called on the NCAA to change.
Again let’s remember all the money that went into this game…. and these players get none of it…. and now Zion gets hurt… something has to change @NCAA
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) February 21, 2019
According to the Sporting News, the most expensive tickets for the game were sold for a whopping $10,652. That number was nearly double the $5,400 price for the most expensive ticket to last season’s game.
That has been the norm for Duke this year as Zion’s presence has jacked up the prices for tickets to games that feature the Blue Devils squad.
According to Vivid Seat’s Stephen Spiewak, sales traffic to Duke basketball’s ticket page on Vivid Seats is up 82 percent so far this season.
