More on #ZionTrain: ESPN Front Row
- Deep-dive focuses on 2019 NBA Draft top prospect Zion Williamson
- The Undefeated marks third anniversary with a new homepage design
The Undefeated, ESPN’s content platform exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture, dedicates its home page today to Zion Williamson, the Duke men’s basketball star who is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Titled “Zion Train,” the digital site’s home page features a collection of stories and videos that preview the anticipated cultural and basketball impact of Zion being drafted and entering the NBA.
The “#ZionTrain” package also ushers in the new look and design of The Undefeated homepage which coincides with the site’s third anniversary on May 17. The new Undefeated design showcases more content on the home page, allowing fans to explore even more featured content.
The Undefeated content initiative complements ESPN’s unprecedented coverage of the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery on May 14. “Zion Train” Highlights:
- On Defending Zion: Bryson Bishop was a 5-foot-6-inch guard in eighth grade at Oakbrook Prep in South Carolina in 2017 when his coach asked him to enter the game against Spartanburg Day and “stick him.” Him was Zion Williamson. The result was a video clip that has been viewed more than five million times because Bishop refused to back down. Writer Jerry Bembry catches up with Bishop and other players on opposing high school teams who witnessed Zion’s early dominance.
- Best landing spot for Zion: Atlanta doesn’t need Zion like Cleveland needed LeBron James in the 2003 NBA Draft to restore its pride. The majority African-American city is already the mecca for black excellence, a modern-day mashup of the Harlem Renaissance and Sweet Home Chicago. Justin Tinsley visits with notable thought-leaders in Atlanta – illustrator and entrepreneur Larry Luk, hip-hop historian Maurice Garland, sports blogger Jameelah Johnson and more – to find out why Zion would be a good fit for the city’s disruptive arts and entrepreneurial scene.
- 2003 LeBron Lottery: Zion is the most anticipated NBA Draft prospect since LeBron James and the 2003 NBA Draft class when Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were all among the top-five selections. The Undefeated’s senior NBA writer Marc Spears, who covered the 2003 Draft, pens a column about the NBA Lottery when LeBron was the grand prize and how it compares to 2019 with Zion.
- The Mix Tape – Zion Dunks: Writer David Dennis Jr. chronicles how social media and YouTube videos helped create the Zion sensation.
- Zion – The Journey (video story): As the 18-year-old former high school star and one-year college basketball All-American transitions to an NBA city to begin his professional career, people from Spartanburg, South Carolina share stories of Zion, their hometown hero.
Also, ESPN senior writer Mina Kimes travelled to South Carolina for a profile entitled “The Education of Zion Williamson” available now on ESPN.com. Kimes chronicles Zion’s time at Spartanburg Day School, the independent college preparatory school where he excelled at writing poetry as much as he did on the court.
The Undefeated is ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture. The digital hub, TheUndefeated.com, which launched in May 2016, combines innovative long-form and short-form storytelling, investigation, original reporting and provocative commentary to enlighten and entertain.
In addition to its cutting-edge content, The Undefeated seeks to be a thought-leader on race, sports and culture in the country – convening insightful forums to discuss and debate topical issues affecting sports and race in America.
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Contacts: mac.nwulu@espn.com or kimberly.jarvis@espn.com
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