Josh Reynolds and five of his best friends sat in his Lincoln Park apartment, arms linked, eyes glued to the television as NBA commissioner Adam Silver read the first overall pick: “With the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the New Orleans Pelicans select Zion Williamson.”
“My heart fell out of my chest,” Reynolds said. “I just couldn’t believe it, I thought it was destiny. I thought Zion Williamson was going to be a Chicago Bull.”
Reynolds was fully aware that Zion was predicted by every expert to be the No. 1 overall pick. “I knew what the experts were saying, but the fact is experts are wrong all the time. Look at Tom Skilling,” Reynolds said as he pointed outside at the April weather in mid-June.
“We knew people thought we were crazy,” Reynold’s friend Dan Johnson said. “We just thought if we believed, anything can happen.”
The five friends say they remain hopeful the Pelicans will trade Zion to the Bulls before the season begins. That is why they all refuse to get their Zion Williamson in a Bulls uniform tattoo removed from across their chests.
“You just gotta believe,” Reynolds said with a smile.
