Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE, via Getty Images
NEW ORLEANS — The advice to Zion Williamson came from Saints quarterback Drew Brees. It is passed from athlete to athlete here like an heirloom: “If you love the city of New Orleans, it will love you right back.”
This city throws its arms open to new arrivals, sharing its music, its food, its rich culture. From its athletes it wants something in return: confirmation that they want to be here. Validation that New Orleans punches above its weight, that a small market can hold its own in the big leagues.