God Shammgod Interview
This interview is genuinely one of the more interesting pieces of offseason content we’ve gotten in a while. It gives some real insight into what God Shammgod is working on with the players, especially Zion.
The biggest takeaway for me was what he said about Zion:
“He’s open and willing to do everything it takes. He wants to be a 3 level scorer, that’s what we’ve been working on. Hopefully people will be pleasantly surprised when the season starts, and it’ll be scary for a lot of people, trust me.”
As Pelicans fans, I know we’ve heard it all before. Every offseason feels like the start of another cycle: Zion is in the best shape of his life, he’s locked in, this year will be different. Then the season starts, we see flashes, the same offensive limitations, injuries become a talking point again, and we’re right back where we started. A lot of fans have understandably given up believing it’ll never change.
But this offseason feels a little different to me.
It’s a fresh start with a new coaching staff, and Shammgod talks a lot about the relationship he’s building with Zion and his previous relations also with the rest of the team. What stood out wasn’t just the basketball side of things, but how much he seems to genuinely care about the players and the Pelicans organisation. That was refreshing to hear.
The biggest difference for me is the transparency. It feels like, for the first time in a while, we’re actually hearing specifically what Zion is working on instead of vague “he’s improving” comments. Hearing that the focus is on becoming a true three level scorer is exciting. If he can consistently add a reliable jumper and keep defenses honest, it completely changes how teams have to guard him.
Shammgod also emphasised Zion’s willingness to be coached and his openness to improving, which is something you want to hear from your ‘franchise’ player.
Obviously, none of this guarantees anything. It’s still July, and we’ve all been burned by offseason hype before. But I’d rather hear a great player development coach talk in detail about the work being done than hear generic PR quotes.
Maybe I’m being delusional, but I still believe people can change, players can evolve, and Zion can too.
I’d definitely recommend watching the interview. Even beyond the Zion discussion, there’s some good insight into the culture they’re trying to build and how Shammgod approaches player development. Let me know what you all thinkI know we’ve heard the same story before, but this one gave me a little more optimism than usual.