With three quality options to choose from with the #1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Team Orlando Magic landed Duke’s Paolo Banchero.
Banchiro, 19, is the fifth Duke player to finish first overall and second in the past four drafts and is the thirteenth straight freshman to be selected by the first selection.
Banchero is a surprising first choice. While he was expected to get into the top three, Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren were expected to go 1-2 on most mock drafts.
“This is one of the best moments of my life. I am so excited. I couldn’t be happier to be a member of Orlando Magic. … This is not even a dream,” Banchero said. “I feel like this is a fantasy. I dreamed of being in the NBA, but being the #1 pick overall, that’s crazy.”
He had an emotional moment right after walking on stage and shaking hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. He was speechless for a moment during his live interview with ESPN.
“I’ve never cried with tears of joy in my life, and I’ve been telling everyone I won’t cry no matter what type I chose,” Banchero said. It just hit me. I couldn’t stop him.”
Oklahoma City selected Holmgren with the No. 2 pick, and drafted Houston Smith in third.
The Magic hasn’t done an official exercise or interview with Banchero, but they’ve been in touch with him several times and felt comfortable with all the information they gathered, a person familiar with his No. 1 decision told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the operation.
Banchero, who ranges in age from 6-10 to 250 pounds, may be the most NBA-ready of the potential #1 picks due to his size, strength, poise, and the skills he applies to both ends of the court.
He averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals and fired 47.8% from the field and 33.8% on 3-pointers in his only season at Duke. Banchero’s versatility allows him to act as a head coach or facilitator of the ball. Banchero is a solid scorer within the 3-point streak and although he needs to improve his accuracy in 3 seconds, he has the mechanics to become reliable from that distance.
It was Orlando’s fifth pick in the past six drafts and his first #1 pick since Dwight Howard’s pick in 2004.
Now, it’s time for the magic to rebuild them in the right direction. They moved on from Nikola Vucevich and Evan Fournier and focused on a youth movement that includes Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner, Galen Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba, Markel Foltz and Jonathan Isaac.
However, injuries prevented Magic from putting his best players on the field.
Magic loves its size and versatility, Banchero adds to that. Magic’s head of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond, who picked Giannis Antetokounmue when he was in charge of the Bucks, were ahead of players with impressive physical attributes such as height and wing span.
“I feel like I’m going to fit in great,” Banchero said. “Magic, they have a lot of talent. They are very deep. They also have a lot of dynamic strikers like me with Wendell and Franz Wagner. Adding myself, I feel this will give the teams a lot of problems.
“This is three 6-9, 6-10, 6-11 players who can dribble, pass and shoot, and have a high IQ. I think that would be a huge advantage for us and a struggle for other teams to plan for.”
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