'I Suck Right Now': Magic Rookie Paolo Banchero Experiencing First Career 'Slump'

Orlando Magic top pick Paolo Banchero hasn't played his best in the three games this week.

Jeremy Brener | Dec 31, 2022

'I Suck Right Now': Magic Rookie Paolo Banchero Experiencing First Career 'Slump' /

ORLANDO - It hasn't been the best week for Orlando Magic No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero.

The Magic lost each of its three games by double digits and added insult to injury in the team's loss Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons, where a fight resulted in nine of his teammates receiving suspensions. Majority of the suspended players sat out of Friday night's loss at home to the Washington Wizards, a winnable game if the team had more bodies.

Banchero scored 21 points on an inefficient 7 of 24 shooting, which turned out to be his best stat line of the week.

"It hurts when you can't score," Banchero said. "We came out with good energy. We defended them well. We couldn't make shots, I couldn't make a shot, so that's on me. I had some point-blank looks, some jumpers that I usually hit, so I just gotta shake this little, whatever you want to call it, slump, and move on."

Before his performance on Friday, Banchero scored a career-low four points in a loss Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers and posted just 15 points on Wednesday against the Pistons.

Banchero scored at least 20 points in each of the team's six-game win streak, but the rookie is beginning to learn that the NBA isn't all roses and rainbows.

"Sometimes that's what happens," Banchero said. "That's what I've been learning. Sometimes you have early success and you think that's what it's going to be like all the time and then you have games like this where you're just like, "Damn, I suck right now."

Banchero is still an overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year averaging 20.9 points per game, but he hopes to learn from his mistakes and move forward from these struggles he's facing.

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Published Dec 31, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.