NEW ORLEANS — The hype surrounding Zion Williamson is nationwide.
"I traveled from New Jersey to see this," said Jacob Goldberg, a young fan waiting patiently to enter the Smoothie King Center Wednesday night.
Those who scored a ticket to Williamson's big game became a part of a sea of number one jerseys with high hopes.
"Just his dominance, rebounding, more action, more dunks, I mean, he's an action packed guy from high school, college, and I'm sure he's gonna do the same thing in the pros," said Antoine Torregano, a season-ticket holder.
Inside the Pelicans Team Store, fans shopped from a wall of Zion Williamson T-shirts. From jerseys, to Mardi Gras Pelicans merch, even Zion Williamson socks, fans can rep the Pels from literally head to toe.
Jamey Townsend, who traveled from Baton Rouge for the game, was shopping for gear when we found him.
"The excitement of him starting tonight and and kind of get into the playoff hunt is exciting," Townsend said.
Chris Delgado says he goes to as many games as he can, and thinks the remainder of this season is about seasoning Williamson for next year.
"Definitely don't want to risk any injury," Delgado said. "So, I hope he doesn't play too much, as much as I want to see him play."
Fans started lining up outside the Smoothie King Center two-and-a-half hours before game time.
"We're excited to see him back, hopefully he's healthy," said Abel Bourg, who was the first in line.
Phillip Harrison, who was at the game with his family, is optimistic for the postseason.
"I think he's gonna dominate the court, he's gonna show New Orleans and show the team he's back, and lead us to the playoffs," Harrison said.
And still, those not from New Orleans made an effort to pack the Smoothie King Center for Zion's return.
Lindsay Carley bought tickets for her parents and herself, and then made a 12-hour drive from Oklahoma.
"Whenever I got the notification on my phone from ESPN that he was making his debut tonight, I was like, 'we gotta buy tickets and I gotta know now'. And she was like, OK, just do it. We'll do it."
It was a packed house and a thrilled Pels fans base as New Orleans opens its arms wide for Zion.
"We haven't had something to really get excited about with the Pelicans for a while," Ethan Blakely said. "So it's really good to see everybody get really excited about something."
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