Duke's Zion Williamson says he gained 100 pounds in 2 years
Athletes. They’re just like us. Kind of.
Duke freshman superstar Zion Williamson spoke with GQ for a Q&A that spanned from whose locker he used at Madison Square Garden (not at all relatable) to gaining 100 pounds over two years (highly relatable).
Williamson, listed at 6-foot-8 and 285 pounds this season, told GQ’s Devin Gordon he didn’t realize he was “unusually big” until his junior year of high school.
I didn’t pick up all this weight until junior year. Freshman year, I was small. I was 6-3, 175 — like, I was small. And over the course of about two years I picked up a hundred pounds. I mean, I wouldn’t look at myself and go, ‘Wow, I’m 250!’ I wouldn’t know I was 250 until I stepped on the scale, and then I’m like, ‘Oh. I’m 250?’ I don’t feel 250. I don’t feel slow. Like, with all that weight just came more athleticism and finding myself able to do new things. People always say you have to grow into your body, but for me, it wasn’t even growing into my body — the more weight came, it didn’t phase me. It made me faster, stronger. It helped me become a more versatile player.
Williamson wasn’t stuffing his face with Cheetos, Oreos and cheesecake to put on 75 to 100 pounds of fat while kicking it back on the couch playing video games all night after school. Though injuries did help him add so much weight.
He was still throwing down dunks at practice, putting on muscle, and likely eating more in general. Injuries also helped him add the weight. Growth spurts happen in adolescence, with the average male weight growing between 32 and 42 pounds between the ages of 14 and 18, per growth charts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And Williamson’s idea of “small” is quite relative. He was still in the 90th percentile of weight at 175 his junior year (about 15 or 16 years old). His height was in the top percentile of teens, per the CDC charts.
Take solace in adding weight like Zion Williamson, but know it’s not quite the same. (Sorry.)
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