Magic Rookie Paolo Banchero 'Worst Shooter' in NBA?

Paolo Banchero should be the NBA Rookie of the Year, but could his shooting improve?

Jeremy Brener | Mar 29, 2023

Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - Paolo Banchero has elevated the Orlando Magic to new heights in his rookie season.

Banchero is averaging 19.9 points and 6.8 rebounds and is helping the Magic to a 10+ win improvement in his first season in the league.

However, his shooting has come under scrutiny from critics, including Bleacher Report, which followed a formula written by Basketball Reference to determine which shooters have been the most efficient compared to what an average league player would have made with the same amount of shots.

B/R also took out shots under 10 feet in this exercise, which determined Banchero as the worst shooter in the NBA.

"He's 23rd in the league in total two-point attempts from 10-plus feet and 109th (out of 513) in total three-point attempts," Bleacher Report writes. "His percentage is comfortably below average on the deuces, but not cripplingly so. The real issues are the volume of twos and the three-point percentage that's over seven points shy of the league average."

This isn't an alarming statistic, especially because Bleacher Report lists LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were among the worst shooters in the league as well.

Banchero gets a large amount of shots, and if his efficiency can catch up, he could find himself among the league's best players in the next few years.

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Published Mar 29, 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.