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Paolo Banchero picked No. 1 in 2022 NBA Draft by Orlando Magic: 'I can't really believe what just happened'

The former O'Dea standout backed up his consensus top-three national prospect billing at Duke, where he helped the Blue Devils reach the Final Four in Coach K's last season.

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Paolo Banchero picked No. 1 in 2022 NBA Draft by Orlando Magic: 'I can't really believe what just happened'
Paolo Banchero picked No. 1 in 2022 NBA Draft by Orlando Magic: 'I can't really believe what just happened' /

O'Dea graduate Paolo Banchero, a one-and-done at Duke and consensus top-three pick, was selected with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Thursday.

Unlike years past when the top pick is widely agreed upon, most mock drafts had Banchero slotted at No. 3 and Auburn's Jabari Smith at No. 1. But Banchero, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward, went first in a surprise twist.

As of Thursday morning, ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Smith as the top selection and Banchero No. 3 to the Houston Rockets was becoming "increasingly firm" with Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren projected at No. 2. Multiple sportsbooks flipped odds in Banchero's favor in the final 24 hours ahead of the draft.

"I don’t even know what to say," said on the ESPN broadcast. "I really can’t believe what just happened. Honestly. I never would have thought this would happen. I wanted to be in the NBA, but I didn’t know I’d be here, man. I really honestly didn’t. This is unbelievable and I can’t speak right now."

Banchero didn't know definitively where he was going until moments before the pick was announced, he said on the ESPN broadcast. 

"Five minutes before they were on the clock, my agent’s telling me ‘be ready for anything,’ " Banchero told ESPN. "He wasn’t sure about anything, but just told me to be ready. Then about 20-30 seconds before the commissioner walked out to announce the pick, he looked at me and said ‘congratulations.’ " 

He donned a head-turning purple suit with a chain that read "P5" — his jersey number and first initial — and shiny silver shoes. The purple, he said, was to pay homage to his hometown Washington Huskies, where his mom, Rhonda Smith-Banchero played.

Banchero flashed rare size, athleticism and fluidity and was a terror on opposing teams as the nearly 7-foot post with guard skills led O'Dea to a WIAA Class 3A state championship as a sophomore in 2019 and led the Fighting Irish back to the title game as a junior, averaging 22.6 points, 11.0 boards, 3.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

(Retracing Paolo Banchero’s Seattle high school basketball rise: ‘It’s how I imagine people talked about LeBron James’)

He was a consensus five-star recruit and ranked among the top three prospects in the country in the class of 2021 and left Seattle to become only the second player from the state of Washington to play at Duke, following Mercer Island's Quin Snyder (1985). 

At Duke, he was a consensus second team All-American, ACC Freshman of the Year and a finalist for Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year, averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 boards and 3.2 assists. He helped lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four in coach Mike Krzyzewski's final season.

Rewind Paolo Banchero's prep career:

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    (Lead photo by Kyle Terada, USA Today)

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    Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
    ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

    Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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