One thing I’ve been noticing lately is that national broadcasts of Pelicans games are overwhelmingly Zion-oriented. And when I say overwhelmingly, I’m not being hyperbolic. It’s like other players on the Pelicans don’t even exist, and if they do exist, they only exist on order to support Zion. Even when other players make a good play, it’s often framed in the context of Zion’s rapid rise to stardom, even when Zion isn’t even involved in the play.
Case in point: after Josh Hart scores, they have to show Zion sitting on the bench or getting ready to check into the game, as if to say, “Don’t forget that Zion is on this team! Look! It’s Zion Williamson! Please don’t turn this off because he will be back in the game soon!” This is very similar to how Lakers broadcasts were last season in the first year of the LeBron James era. After every play they would show LeBron sitting on the bench clapping as if to say, “LeBron’s opinion on the on-court action is more important than literally everything else.”
The Pelicans broadcasts are a bit more equitable in their depictions of Zion and his teammates, although the commentary has gone so far into the “intolerable fawning” zone that their broadcasts are still largely unwatchable. And it’s not as if somebody like Josh Hart has been doing a lot to deserve some of the spotlight over his waddling star-in-the-making teammate. He’s averaging double digits for the first time in his career, but nineteen points is his third-highest point total this season. Now that nobody cares about Fortnite, nobody cares about Josh Hart.