Zion Williamson stars for Duke and has a chance to go down as one of the proud program’s all-time greats.
His top player of all time is from the same neighborhood.
“I mean, me personally, I’d got with Jordan,” Williamson said Thursday in Washington, D.C, where the No. 1 Blue Devils will play Virginia Tech in the NCAA tournament East Region semifinals Friday night. “I mean, that’s my opinion. Jordan is my GOAT because that’s what my parents taught me.”
Yes, even in a rivalry as intense as Duke and North Carolina, a Duke star has no problem saying Michael Jordan, a proud Tar Heel, is the greatest player of all time.
He said Kobe Bryant and LeBron James would be tied for second on his list.
This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 5:11 PM.
Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.
