Paolo Banchero already won the Rookie of the Year Award
The number one pick from this year’s draft didn’t let the Magic organization down, as he is already showing them that he can be the leader of the team, even if he only has 20 years of age. Coming out from Duke, where he averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 3.2 APG in the last year, Paolo Banchero raised Orlando’s organization interest with his versatility as a scorer inside the arc. He needs to work on his outside shot, though, as he is cashing in only 33.8% of hit total 3-point attempts, but it is safe to say that he has a lot of time to improve in that area. Paolo can be used as a Small-Forward, Power-Forward or even as a Center in small-ball lineups.
Even though it’s very early into the season, with only ten games being played as of now, Paolo Banchero looks to be miles ahead of his competition. Until now, he has 23 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 45.8 FG%. The percentages are not necessarily good, but given the fact that he is a rookie, we’ll give him a pass on that.
Paolo Banchero’s first six NBA games:
27 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk
20 pts, 12 reb, 3 blk
23 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast
21 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl
29 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk
21 pts, 12 reb, 7 ast??♂️ pic.twitter.com/8b2v2nhrrJ
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) October 29, 2022
Last night, in the game played versus the Kings, Banchero became the second teenager to record 30 points and 15+ rebounds in a game in NBA history. The other player who did that was Lebron James.
Based on this start of the season, it seems that the Orlando Magic organization found its franchise player and can start to build around him now. He definitely has the potential to be a top-10 player in the league at some point in his career, if he keeps working hard on his game, because the kid has talent.
we see you rook ?
(via @BallyMagic) pic.twitter.com/sBCMSZL4am
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 2, 2022
The other notable mentions in the Rookie of the Year race are Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings (17.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg) and Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers (20.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg).
