Magic PF Paolo Banchero Unanimous Rookie of the Year Chances 'Ruined'?

Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero will not be a unanimous Rookie of the Year selection.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 14, 2023

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - It hasn't been confirmed yet, but Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero should be the Rookie of the Year.

That could have been confirmed by his play, becoming just the sixth rookie in NBA history to average 20 points, six points and three assists. But it was even more confirmed by Max Croes, who is tracking end-of-season votes on Twitter.

Croes' detective work had 20 votes confirmed for Rookie of the Year ... 19 had Banchero, one (a Utah Jazz beat writer for the Salt Lake Tribune) had Walker Kessler, ending any possibility for a unanimous award win for Banchero.

The beat writer, Andy Larsen, explained his decision to vote for Kessler in a series of tweets.

"Basically... the advanced stats all favor Kessler, and I've always been an analytically-oriented voter," Larsen tweeted. "I think I would have made this vote even if I covered another team."

While only a handful of the 100 votes have been verified, there's a chance that Banchero could still lose the award. But the vote for Kessler has enraged Magic fans online and prompted them to defend the No. 1 overall pick.

In Larsen's longer explanation for the Kessler vote, he claims that he will get "pilloried" for his choice, believing it to be an unpopular pick amongst fans, but he defends his take and justifies it with numbers.

There's only been five unanimous Rookie of the Year choices, not even LeBron James is on the list, so achieving that feat would have been very hard.

Banchero had a chance, and could still receive 99 percent of all first-place votes, but the opportunity to become the sixth unanimous Rookie of the Year is ruined.

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Published Apr 14, 2023

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.