Orlando may have surprised some fans when they selected Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick, but it already looks like a wise choice.
On Wednesday, in a 113-109 loss to the Detroit Pistons, Banchero scored 27 points, the highest-scoring total by a No. 1 overall pick since LeBron James. He also became the first NBA player to finish with 25-5-5 in a debut since LeBron. Since 1969, the only other player to record such a stat line during their professional debut is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It was even more impressive when considering how Banchero was able to score against the Pistons. He was a perfect 5-for-5 in a transition offense, including 3 possessions as the ball-handler playing in the open floor.
The rookie looked as polished as an experienced veteran, especially while drawing contact and earning a trip to the free-throw line after throwing down a dunk with patently ridiculous ferocity:
But he was effective in a half-court offense, too, which is great news.
Banchero also finished multiple possessions as the ball-handler in pick-and-roll sets, and he was easily able to beat his man one-on-one off the bounce in isolation from the top of the key.
Banchero looked like an early favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. Even more exciting, though, is that Orlando actually resembled a genuinely fun offense.
The Magic finished with the worst offense in the league last year, per Cleaning the Glass, and their offensive efficiency was bottom-half of the NBA in each of the past ten seasons. Orlando’s offense was bottom 5 during six of those campaigns.
Current Magic lineup is
Mo Bamba (7'0")
Wendell Carter Jr (6'10")
Bol Bol (7'1")
Caleb Houstan (6'8")
Franz Wagner (6'10")— Brian (@BrianJDraft) October 19, 2022
Orlando’s most frequent five-man lineup featured Banchero as the offensive focal point, and no one on the floor was shorter than 6-foot-5. But even when he was off the court, their jumbo-sized iteration was thrilling to watch.
Maybe the Magic don’t win a ton of games, but the product should at least be interesting to watch. We’ve already predicted a breakout campaign for Franz Wagner, and if Banchero continues to have early success, this team is worth watching in 2022-23.
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