Duke’s Zion Williamson Suffers Injury After Shoe Explodes Against UNC

Wednesday night’s matchup between Duke and North Carolina has been one of the most highly anticipated regular season college basketball games in a while.

All eyes have been on No. 1 Duke and their star-studded freshmen class, predominantly Zion Williamson, who many project will be the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

But the biggest primetime game Williamson has played in his young college career got off to an absolutely wild start.

Just 33 seconds into the game, Williamson went to cut back at the top of the key with the ball when his Nike sneaker literally imploded. The mishap seemed to cause Williamson’s leg to buckle as he fell to the ground writhing in pain. He left the game with an apparent leg injury.

We’re not sure whose heart sank more while watching the play unfold, Duke fans or Nike executives.

Duke announced Williamson will not return to the game.