Paolo Banchero made his NBA debut on Wednesday night for the Orlando Magic on the road against the Detroit Pistons. It appears as if the Magic found a legit superstar despite the 113-109 loss on the road against the Pistons.
Banchero scored 27 points on 61.1% shooting from the field. He also grabbed nine rebounds, recorded five assists, and also recorded two steals. Paolo Banchero is the first rookie to score at least 25 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded five assists in his NBA debut since Lebron James did it in 2003 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Paolo Banchero was the number one overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Duke University. He is going to be the betting favorite after this first game to win the 2022-2023 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Banchero is just getting his NBA career started after leading Duke to a Final Four appearance a season ago.
He is going to draw people into arenas whether home or away. Paolo Banchero has made his mark from day one and it is going to be a very good thing for him. There will be a lot of NBA fans and Orlando Magic fans trying to buy his jersey in a hurry.
He was probably the best player in the 2022 NBA Draft class. Paolo Banchero will be on a bad basketball team this season, but they are in the midst of a rebuild. His talent and his play will make Orlando potentially a better basketball team in a couple of years from now.
There was a reason why the Magic took Paolo Banchero over Chet Holmgren in the 2022 NBA Draft. Holmgren was drafted second overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder and he's already out for the season with a lisfranc Injury.
The other three top-five picks were Jabari Smith by the Houston Rockets, Keegan Murray by the Sacramento Kings, and Jaden Ivey by the Detroit Pistons. Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic has arrived in the NBA and he is here to stay to make an impact in this league for the next 15 years or so.