Zion Williamson receives birthday wish from Tiger King's Carole Baskin

Carole Baskin, who was a part of the Netflix documentary Tiger King, wished New Orleans Pelicans star rookie Zion Williamson a happy 20th birthday. The 29-second video was posted by Overtime where the 59-year-old wished Zion Williamson a happy birthday. Baskin currently owns the Big Cat Rescue in Florida and featured in Tiger King, which focused on private zoo operator Joe Exotic.

Also read | Zion Williamson net worth, personal life and rookie season: Zion Williamson birthday

Zion Williamson birthday wish from Tiger King's Carole Baskin

Carole Baskin started the video with her signature "Hey all you cool cats and kittens" phrase while wearing her usual flower crown before moving on to wish Williamson a happy birthday. She goes on to add that all the cool 'cats and kittens at Overtime have loved' watching Zion Williamson play and 'grow over the years' which indicated that she might be a fan from his time in Duke or earlier. Baskin added that she cannot wait for him to 'dunk on everybody in Orlando' and they are 'always rooting for the coolest cat around'. Baskin ended the video by asking Zion to 'stay cool'. 

The New Orleans Pelicans are currently ranked 10th in the Western Conference and will be travelling to Orlando for the NBA restart to try and secure a playoff spot. After recovering from an injury he suffered during the 2019-20 season, Williamson played only 19 games before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Williamson was averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 58.9 percent from the field before the suspension. 

Also read | "I trust the NBA" - Pelicans star Zion Williamson supports league restart

Zion Williamson birthday: Fans react to Carole Baskin wishing Zion Williamson a happy birthday 

Also read | Zion Williamson's new workout photo gets compared to Bane by fans on social media: NBA restart

Was Zion Williamson birthday wish from Carole Baskin a paid promotion?

Most fans were surprised after seeing the video and thought it was weird for her to wish him. In the documentary Tiger King, it was revealed that she lives in Florida, has a feud with Joe Exotic and loves big cats. The documentary sparked rumours about her possibly having killed her husband, which also turned into a meme. As per reports, the 59-year-old was selling 30-second messages of any kind on the app Cameo in return for a payment. As per reports, Carole apparently made around $20,000 on the first day as her introduction message promoted donations at BigCatAct.com. Her example messages from the app include pep, PR shoutouts and birthday messages like the one made for Zion Williamson. 

Also read | LeBron James Vs Zion Williamson Debut: Comparing No 1 NBA Draft Picks' Hype And Trajectory

(Image source: NBA stats official Twitter, Carole Baskin official Cameo account)