"NBA needed this back": Zion Williamson's poster dunk on DPOTY Jaren Jackson Jr. has fans going bonkers

New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson made his highly anticipated return in the Pelicans’ season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. In his first regular-season action since Jan. 2, it didn’t take long for Williamson to showcase his trademark athleticism.

Late in the second quarter, Williamson drove from the 3-point line. He then threw down a nasty one-handed slam dunk over reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.

The dunk had NBA fans hyped on X, formerly known as Twitter, as they welcomed the two-time All-Star back:

“NBA needed this back,” one fan said.

“He needs to stay healthy. Such an unreal talent,” another said.

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Williamson’s poster dunk:

CJ McCollum on Zion Williamson’s improved maturity

New Orleans Pelicans teammates CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson

After playing just 29 games last season due to a hamstring injury, Zion Williamson worked rigorously over the last nine months to get healthy. According to his teammate, CJ McCollum, Williamson also matured significantly during his time on the sidelines:

“I do feel like he has matured a lot,” McCollum told the New York Post.

“I feel like he has an understanding of what’s expected of him and exactly what he needs to do consistently in order to be available. I think he understands how good he can be when he’s doing the little things. Playing the game is the easiest thing for him. He’s a gamer, the lights are on, he likes to show off — and really just show how good he is at the sport.”

In particular, McCollum said that Williamson has learned how to take care of his body on a day-to-day basis:

“The hard part is the day-to-day stuff. I think he’s gotten a lot better at that, which will allow him to be a lot more successful — consistently — throughout an entire season. … Taking care of your body. Foam rolling. Stretching. The little things that you don’t really have to do when you’re younger. You just have to hoop.

“But as you get older, it’s about body maintenance. It’s about prep before practice. It’s about getting your correctives in. He’s taken strides and our organization has taken strides to make sure that we’re doing things the right way.”

In addition to playing just 29 games last season, Williamson only played a total of 114 games over his first four seasons. So, Pelicans fans are hoping that the star forward will finally be able to stay healthy for a full season.

Last season, Williamson averaged 26.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.6 blocks per game on 60.8% shooting over 29 games.