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3 expectations for Paolo Banchero in his second year with the Orlando Magic

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 26: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic poses during the 2022 Orlando Magic Media Day at AdventHealth Training Center on September 26, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 26: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic poses during the 2022 Orlando Magic Media Day at AdventHealth Training Center on September 26, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 05: Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic shoots a three pointer. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 05: Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic shoots a three pointer. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images) /

3 expectations for Paolo Banchero’s sophomore season

3. Increase the 3-point percentage

For all of Paolo Banchero’s already dazzling offensive talent, the one area he fell down noticeably in his first season was his 3-point shooting percentage.

Banchero ended the campaign having shot a shade worse than 30 percent from deep, which is a number that is going to have to improve no matter how many efforts he hoists up. He famously had a 1-for-32 shooting performance from deep in February — at least partially caused by a nerve injury.

He came through in the final two months of the season, hitting 38.7 percent of his threes the rest of the year (the final 17 games). The poor shooting was at least one of the reasons people seemed to think the Rookie of the Year race opened some.

Jalen Williams has never led Paolo Banchero in ROTY race. light. Related Story

This may be nitpicking for a player who scored in the myriad of ways in which Banchero did against all manner of opponents. But if he is going to take four attempts per game moving forward, the percentage that goes in has to improve.

You can be sure Banchero is going to take even more 3-pointers the longer he is in the league, and the fact he took the third most on the team in his first season is proof of that.

Luckily for Banchero, he is going to get better at making these shots. He has already gotten better as the season wore on. And, in time, he will have more help from higher-level teammates to allow him to get better looks.

Finally, if there is more reason for optimism, it is because Banchero got to the line an incredible 7.4 times per game, and made 73.8 percent of his efforts.

The correlation between 3-point shooting and made free throws has been long debated. But if a link truly does exist, then he is doing all of the right things to get better at both for the road ahead.