Inside The Rockets

Potential No. 1 Pick Paolo Banchero 'Likes' Kevin Porter Jr. Highlight Reel on Twitter; Future Rockets Teammates?

A match made in social media heaven?

Jeremy Brener

The Houston Rockets are slated to pick in the top 5 in this summer's upcoming draft, and one of those picks could be Duke's Paolo Banchero.

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Andrew Weavers/USA Today Sports

Paolo Banchero

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Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports

Paolo Banchero

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Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports

Paolo Banchero

Banchero was the best player on a Duke team that made its first Final Four in seven years, the longest drought of Coach Mike Krzyzewski's career before he retired at season's end.

He averaged 17.2 points per game to go with 7.8 rebounds in his lone season with the Blue Devils before declaring for the draft. He's projected to be one of the first three players to be selected in this year's draft.

And while he won't get to choose where he wants to go, the Duke forward might prefer Houston out of all his potential destinations.

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Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

Kevin Porter Jr.

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Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

Kevin Porter Jr.

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Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

Kevin Porter Jr.

On Thursday, Banchero 'liked' a tweet of a highlight reel of Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr., celebrating his 22nd birthday earlier this week.

Banchero and Porter Jr.'s relationship started when both were enrolled in Seattle's high schools -- Banchero at O'Dea and Porter Jr. at Rainier Beach. The schools were just 20 minutes apart. In fact, Porter Jr. was supposed to attend O'Dea and would have been teammates with Banchero in his senior year when he was a freshman, but KPJ's mother convinced him to attend Rainier Beach, where his late father was an athlete.

The pair were close through the high school and AAU scenes and have followed their careers up until this point. Now it looks as if the two might finally get that opportunity to share the court together.

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Jeremy Brener
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.

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