LeBron James showed Zion Williamson what the throne looks like

LeBron James is the best athlete of his generation. Zion Williamson hopes the same can be said about him one day. In many ways, Williamson could be the biggest rookie sensation to enter the NBA since James hit the 2003 draft. Their first meeting was always going to feel special.

The 19-year-old Williamson finally faced the 35-year-old James on Tuesday night at the Staples Center. Hopefully he was taking notes in his head. While Williamson had flashes of brilliance, it was James who stole the show, scoring a season-high 40 points to lead the Lakers to a decisive 118-109 win.

James took control in the third quarter, going on a personal 11-0 scoring run to open the second half. He was on fire from three-point range, shooting 5-of-11 from deep, and also looked strong going to the basket. Put this on James’ official highlight reel for season No. 17:

This one, too:

Williamson was excellent in his own right, finishing with 29 points on 8-of-18 shooting. It was the ninth straight game he’s scored at least 20 points, but only the second time in his career he’s shot under 50 percent from the field. The Lakers did well to force Williamson into their rim protectors in the paint, where they were able to contest many of his looks in close.

Of course, sometimes there’s simply nothing you can do to keep Williamson away from the basket:

James called Williamson “special” after the game. It’s not hard to see why when he’s making plays like this:

Pelicans teammate Brandon Ingram was even better than Williamson Tuesday. The former Lakers draft pick continued his breakout season by scoring 34 points on 12-of-20 shooting in the loss.

Williamson will remain the story for New Orleans, though. He is already playing like one of the 25 or 30 best players in the sport in terms of his impact on winning. The Pelicans are 13.1 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the floor. He is having a remarkable influence right now for any rookie, let alone a 19-year-old who has only played 14 games after missing the first half of the season recovering from knee surgery.

While Williamson is a spectacle wherever he goes, he still has a long way to go before measuring up with where James is.

James was in complete control of the game at all times, picking apart the Pelicans in the halfcourt and putting on a show above the rim when he got out in transition. There is no better player for Williamson to model his game after.

Like James, Williamson seems to have a rare intuition for how to play the game. Just imagine what he’s going to do when he’s fully healthy and in top shape. This is the just the beginning for Williamson, but he already knows what the mountaintop looks like.

James just showed it to him.