Magic's Paolo Banchero Etches Name Next To LeBron James In NBA Debut

Paolo Banchero, the first pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, had a stellar debut in Orlando’s 113-109 season opening loss on the road against the Detroit Pistons.

When you are drafted first overall, massive expectations are placeb on your shoulders, but all of this talk and pressure did not seem to get to rookie Paolo Banchero in his NBA debut with the Orlando Magic.

They may have lost 113-109 in their first game of the season against the Detroit Pistons, but the Magic have found their star of the present and the future with Banchero, as he put together a dazzling performance.

Banchero finished the game with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists on Wednesday night, becoming the first rookie with at least 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his first game since the one and only LeBron James in 2003.

Paolo Banchero was HISTORIC, becoming the first No. 1 overall pick to drop 20+ PTS, 5+ REB, and 5+ AST in their NBA debut since LeBron James in 2003! pic.twitter.com/RrQwbl5h7r

— NBA (@NBA) October 20, 2022

From getting to the rim and scoring to showing his range on the perimeter to being a factor defensively as well, Banchero was very clearly one of the best players on the floor in this game and he left his mark with his first career “poster dunk” over veteran guard Cory Joseph.

🚨PAOLO POSTER🚨 @OrlandoMagic | #MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/DZxRmSLBV6

— Bally Sports Florida: Magic (@BallyMagic) October 20, 2022

“It means a lot, I guess,” Banchero said in regards to joining the likes of LeBron James. “Obviously, would have liked to win. But I just wanted to play hard, play for the team, and that happened, so it's a blessing.”

With his 27 points in his debut, Paolo Banchero also set a franchise record for the most points by a Magic player in his first career game in team history, outdoing the likes of Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.

“Credit to my teammates for finding me. It's always nice to see the ball get in that early, get easy buckets around the rim,” Banchero stated. “That's how I try to play, inside out. Try to get easy stuff around the basket and expand out and do more stuff throughout the game.”

Orlando is a very young team, as 12 of the players on their roster have 4 or less years of NBA experience and they have a ton of recent first-round picks in Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner and others.

Losing on the road to another young and rebuilding team in the Pistons is not how the Magic would have liked to start their season, but this performance by Banchero is exactly what they wanted to see. The Magic took a chance taking him first overall this past offseason and so far, Paolo Banchero is living up to the hype of being the next face of the franchise. 

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