Zion Williamson Stars In Updated Gatorade ‘Be Like Mike’ Commercial

Now Zion Williamson wants to “Be Like Mike.”

Gatorade on Sunday dropped an updated “Be Like Made” ad featuring Williamson, Elena Delle Donne and Jayson Tatum in which they recreate moments from the original 1990s campaign.

After he became the No. 1 pick of the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson signed a 7-year, $75-million deal with Jordan Brand.

“I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family,” the 6-foot-7 Williamson said then via ESPN. “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league and having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had and continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to.”

Said Jordan: “Zion’s incredible determination, character and play are inspiring. He’s an essential part of the new talent that will help lead the brand into the future. He told us he would ‘shock the world,’ and asked us to believe him. We do.”

Williamson could eventually earn $1 billion — with a ‘B’ — in his career.

“Zion Williamson’s going to make $1 billion playing basketball effortlessly,” longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla told Forbes SportsMoney.

Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Della Donne of the Washington Mystics also help recreate the memorable ‘90s campaign that inspired generations of athletes across the globe to “Be Like Mike.” A promotional email said the hope is the new ad “inspires new generations of athletes to be like Mike…then, now and forever.”

The refreshed ad is airing on social and digital platforms, including Gatorade’s Twitter handle, on Sunday ahead of Episodes 5 and 6 of The Last Dance.

The first two episodes drew an average of 6.1 million viewers on ESPN while the third and fourth episodes averaged 5.9 million viewers.

For more on the numbers behind The Last Dance, read this by my colleague Kurt Badenhausen.