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Fresh off a stellar debut, the No. 1 overall pick from this past summer looks like a franchise cornerstone.
Paolo Banchero only needed 22 minutes in his NBA career to entrench himself in the history books. Midway through the third quarter, he scored his 14th point of the game, setting an Orlando Magic rookie record for most points in a debut. His teamate, Mo Bamba, previously held the high-water mark.
By night’s end, he tacked on 13 more points to finish with 27 (64 percent true shooting), the most by a rookie during their inaugural outing since Allen Iverson in 1996. He also added nine boards, five dimes and a pair of rejections in Orlando’s 113-109 defeat against the Detroit Pistons. His 27-9-5 line made him the first rookie since LeBron James to tally 25-5-5 in their debut. That’s some esteemed company for the 19-year-old.
While those rarified numbers shouldn’t be the baseline moving forward, a performance like this was swelling throughout the preseason. He started slowly, scoring 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting in the Magic’s first two tune-up contests.
Over the final three, he appeared more content toggling on and off the ball, figuring out how to harmonize with Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr., and leveraging his distinct arsenal against NBA opponents to catalyze fruitful possessions. In those games, he scored 53 points on 65.3 percent true shooting and showcased a multifaceted offensive package that blends well with the rest of Orlando’s youthful cornerstones.
Transition
Against the Pistons on Wednesday, the majority of his buckets arose organically. His pre-draft appeal revolved predominantly around his creation potential as a hulking, 6-foot-10 initiator, but he’s made clear early in his NBA tenure that he’s adept finding his chances within the offense while others pilot the action.
When fast-break reps materialized, his fluidity, footwork, strength and touch overwhelmed defenders. According to Synergy, he was a perfect 5-of-5 in transition Wednesday. It’s staggeringly arduous to contain someone of his size who pairs graceful ball-handling with locomotive power and movement skills.
Off-ball scoring
Much like Wagner last year, Banchero’s quickly recognized the vast cutting opportunities in this offense and is increasingly feasting on them every game. Orlando is shrewdly scheming mismatches for him, especially on pindown actions that elicit switches and let him play bully-ball, where he relishes promoting contact against ill-equipped defenders. Given the size and talents of this frontcourt, most opponents must concede a mismatch against one of them. Sometimes, it’ll be Banchero, who will jam out in those situations.
The Magic conduct a considerable portion of their offense through a pair of jumbo, eagle-eyed creators in Wagner and Carter, which enables Banchero to thrive off the ball. He should grow more willing to launch spot-up threes rather than hesitate, force a drive and stall an advantage, an issue that predates his NBA arrival. But the early returns of his off-ball repertoire are generally encouraging, both in Wednesday’s opener and throughout the preseason.
On-ball scoring
Orlando has doled out Banchero’s offensive usage quite keenly. It’s not tasking him with creation duty every play down, nor is it stationing him in the corner to amplify Wagner and Carter’s on-ball development while he fades out of relevancy. There’s been a healthy blend of both, with the goal to cultivate all three players into a synergistic frontcourt trio perfectly content slipping in and out of varying roles.
He’s garnering a hefty dose of autonomy to handle the ball and run pick-and-rolls. He’ll post-up, and deploy his refined footwork — he covers swaths of space with his sagacious footwork — and physicality for buckets or fouls. He’s ridiculously strong and will seek favorable contact whenever he fashions a minor advantage or opening. Through six games (five preseason, one regular season), his free-throw rate is .420. On Wednesday alone, it was .389.
Present him a mismatch and his dexterity, ease of movement and strength dominate the succeeding events. Defenders who either mirror his mobility and strength or crowd his handle pose problems on face-up or post touches, but that archetype is not abundant across the league. His long-term intersection of slashing and pull-up shooting, with the former already looking like a bankable attribute, is incredibly enticing.
I also love the concept of him operating as a trailer in early offense when Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz or others dial up the tempo to exploit lackadaisical defensive organization. His strength would excel in that context, and it might embolden him to be more concise off the catch, whether he’s attacking or shooting immediately.
He’s comfortable driving or firing off the bounce around screens, and Orlando is enabling it without overindulging. If those avenues are curtailed, he’ll simply chisel himself down to the low block. By no means has he been confined to narrow, regimented responsibilities thus far offensively, nor has he been afforded opportunities without any supervision to form concerning habits.
Occasionally, he’ll scratch an itch for a jumper and force up something contested or early in the clock. Yet these are minor instances, and he’s not routinely tossing up head-scratching attempts whatsoever.
Facilitating
His decision-making as a scorer suffices. He’s still adapting to NBA-caliber decision-making and processing speeds as a passer. The talent is evident, but he’ll leave his feet without a plan or identify angles late before attempting a passing read into a nonexistent window.
By sheer virtue of his size and handling aptitude to wilt defensive shells, he’s accrued a handful of hockey assists. Orlando is periodically utilizing him on the short roll, too. I’d anticipate these sorts of flashes becoming commonplace sooner rather than later. Producing efficient offense at an NBA level is challenging for anyone, let alone a 19-year-old rookie 2.5 weeks into his career. Growing pains as a passer are typical.
Defense
While the range of his offensive future spans wide, his defense is more specialized, especially at the moment. He’s often been assigned to perimeter-based options and it’s required him to be an off-ball chaser, a sticky proposition at his size. Bojan Bogdanovic torched virtually everyone Wednesday, but Banchero’s inability to efficiently navigate screens or react to them promptly augmented the veteran sharpshooter’s efforts.
The rookie is also prone to ball-watching and reaching that spur breakdowns, on and off the ball. However, he’s displaying intriguing helpside chops on the interior. His technique necessitates refinement. Instead of positioning his entire body in front of drivers or rollers, he tends to swipe for blocks. Other times, he fouls by relinquishes verticality and bringing his hands down. The ground-floor attentiveness he’s exhibited provides optimism, though.
Regardless, avoiding matchups that place him into an off-ball chaser scenario and prioritizing matchups that keep him as a weakside helper should be the objective. Even so, Banchero has to trim down the ball-watching and improve his on-ball discipline. Defensive roles shift throughout a possession. They are not static. He can’t pigeonhole himself at the expense of Orlando’s collective defense.
Before the Magic nabbed the No. 1 pick last spring, their rebuild was progressing smoothly, headlined by Wagner, Carter and Suggs. With Banchero in the mix, smooth’s been replaced by special as the suitable descriptor. They’re diversifying his offensive usage, involving him alongside Wagner and Carter, and maximizing the surrounding personnel to his benefit.
His debut Wednesday embodied that. He is guiding their eventual quest back to the playoffs, while they are carefully approaching his development to maximize just how far he can lead them in the seasons ahead.
