As a result of being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, expectations regarding Paolo Banchero and his rookie season are sky-high. Leading up to the 2022 NBA Draft, Orlando was expected to either select Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren or Auburn’s Jabari Smith, as both players were connected with Orlando due to previous Draft Workouts and Interviews. In addition to this, Orlando never actually hosted Banchero for a formal workout or interview in Orlando, which implied that they favored Holmgren or Smith over Banchero.
It turns out that Orlando went against the consensus opinion and selected Banchero over Holmgren and Smith, causing major amounts of chaos at the top of the draft order. With the majority of NBA Mock Drafts proposing a Draft Order of Smith, Holmgren, Banchero, and Purdue’s Jaden Ivey as the top four picks, Orlando’s polarizing decision led to other teams having to change their own. Oklahoma City ended up picking Holmgren at No. 2, but Houston was able to acquire Smith at No. 3, and then saw Sacramento reach for Iowa’s Keegan Murray, allowing Detroit to take Ivey at No. 5.
With the ongoing debate of whether Orlando made the right choice with Banchero at No. 1, Banchero will certainly make an immediate impact for the Magic in Orlando. Standing at 6’10” and 250 pounds, Banchero impacted the game in a multitude of ways at Duke, averaging 17.1 PPG (Sixth in ACC), 7.8 RPG (Fifth in ACC), 3.2 APG (16th in ACC), 1.1 SPG, and 0.9 BPG (13th in ACC) in 39 collegiate games. In addition to this, Banchero was also a very efficient shooter from the perimeter, as he shot 47.8% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range.
With the ability to create offensive opportunities for himself and his teammates, Banchero will certainly help ignite Orlando’s stagnant offense, as they averaged just 104.2 PPG (29th in NBA). Unlike Holmgren and Smith, Banchero possesses an exclusive trait that may provide all the difference in helping make Orlando a great basketball team: Leadership. In fact, Banchero said it himself shortly after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called his name on June 23rd.
“There’s going to be high expectations for myself that I’m going to hold myself to and that everyone is going to hold myself to,” Banchero said. “But I feel like it’s nothing I’m not used to. It was the same thing for me heading into college, throughout high school, a lot of expectations. It’s been like that my whole life.”
This won’t be the first time where Banchero will face lofty expectations, however. After committing to the University of Duke as the No. 3 Overall Prospect in the 2021 Top247 Rankings, Banchero was immediately expected to fill the void left by Zion Williamson, who was the No. 1 Pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Since arriving at Duke, Banchero fully embraced the lofty expectations and delivered. At just 19 years old, Banchero earned Consensus All-American Second Team Honors, All-ACC First-Team Honors, and the 2021-2022 ACC Freshman of the Year Award. In addition to this, Banchero helped lead Duke to an impressive 32-7 overall record, along with a 16-4 mark in ACC Conference Play.
As a result of Banchero’s dominance in college basketball, the Magic recently admitted that they were convinced that Banchero was the best player in college basketball this past season. In spite of this, talent wasn’t the only factor that influenced Orlando’s choice. As stated by Orlando’s Second Year Coach Jamahl Mosley, it was important to consider everything regarding the player’s character, playstyle, and fit in the short-term and long-term future of the Magic.
“There’s things that you’re grabbing from each one that you’re like, ‘Oh, man, wow, that can be great for us,'” Orlando’s Mosley said. “But then it ultimately comes down to, ‘How does that fit for us? How do we jell with them in the locker room? How are they treating people when they’re walking in?’ Because all those pieces play a factor. And I think we’ve done an incredible job with those details.”
Only time will tell just how well Banchero fits in Orlando’s culture and locker room, but there will be small signs throughout the rest of the offseason. Banchero will officially start NBA offseason workouts during the first week of July, as Orlando is set to play Smith and Houston in the first 2022 NBA Summer League Game on July 7th. Even though Banchero is expected to participate in all five of Orlando’s Summer League games this summer, he won’t be given any special treatment just because of his title as the No. 1 Pick.
“Right now, the level of expectation of what people outside view as what the No. 1 pick should do and should be may be different,” Mosley said. “But we also understand, when you walk into this building, you’re an Orlando Magic and there’s a standard and a set of things that we’re going to need to do night in and night out to make everyone successful.”
As previously mentioned, Holmgren and Smith are both incredibly gifted and skilled basketball players. For Holmgren, his unique physique (7’0″, 195 pounds) will make him one of the hardest players to defend in the NBA, even as a rookie. For Smith, his smooth shooting mechanics and three-level scoring ability (42.9/42.0/79.9 shooting splits) should pair nicely with former No. 2 pick Jalen Green’s playmaking skills in Houston. In spite of Holmgren’s and Smith’s infinite potential, there is something that seemingly sets Banchero apart from them in Orlando’s opinion.
“There are just so many things that go into this,” Magic president Jeff Weltman said. “It’s talent, it’s fit, it’s character, it’s the projection where the league is going. There’s so many things that factor into a conversation like this that you can literally go on for months more arguing it. And that’s kind of like what makes it fun, right? I mean, it’s been a fun process.”