NBA Star Index: Zion Williamson on brink of Shaquille O'Neal record; Nikola Jokic in Wilt Chamberlain air

Meanwhile, Luka Doncic has the Mavericks cooking and Kevin Durant is making headlines for the wrong reason

Welcome back to the NBA Star Index -- a weekly gauge of the players who are most controlling the buzz around the league. Reminder: Inclusion on this list isn't necessarily a good thing. It simply means that you're capturing the NBA world's attention. Also, this is not a ranking. The players listed are in no particular order as it pertains to the buzz they're generating. This column will run every week through the end of the regular season.  According to the screenshots, the situation began in December following the Nets' season-opening win over the Golden State Warriors. The only timestamp on the conversation is Dec. 23, 2020, which was when the conversation began. It's unclear when the conversation ramped back up prior to Rapaport posting the screenshots. Zion Williamson has now scored at least 20 points on 50 percent or better shooting in 24 consecutive games, leaving him just one shy of Shaquille O'Neal's shot clock-era record. Over that 24-game stretch, which dates back to Feb. 6, Zion is averaging 28.8 points on 65 percent shooting. Over his last five, he's averaging 32.4 points on 67 percent shooting.  It all started when "The NBA on TNT" crew mocked Durant for his low-key demeanor when an interview with Charles Barkley wrapped up. Since Stan Van Gundy moved Williamson into something of a point-forward role, giving him the ball outside the 3-point line in space and letting him initiate downhill offense, often via pick-and-roll, the second-year star has been unstoppable. You just can't credibly defend Zion's combination of first-step quickness, shifty footwork and ball-handling, sheer mass and explosive finishing power. He's going where he wants to go, plain and simple.  "K.D. seemed deeply in his feelings with the [TNT] crew after the game," Rapaport tweeted at the time. "DAMNIT he's super sensitive about everything. Don't do the interview."