DETROIT -- Going through the "For You" page after clicking on Paolo Banchero's name is sure to bring up plenty of frustrating hot takes and discussion. Even when the Orlando Magic are successful, it does not always feel like Banchero is giving enough to satisfy his critics.
It is always something with Banchero.
But his teammates and his team know who he is and why he is valuable. They know what he is capable of. Even in a frustrating season where he has never seemed physically quite right, the Magic know Banchero has something special in reserve.
The one truth about his entire career is that he is a playoff performer. He thrives in the biggest moments and the biggest spotlight. He has willed his team to overperform in their postseasons. The hope for Banchero, even in his critics, is that he can do what he did Wednesday night.
With the chance to win his first playoff series and his co-star out with a strained right calf, Banchero put the team on his back. He willed his team back from two 15-point deficits to give the team a chance to win.
His stat line: 45 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, 17-for-31 shooting, and 6 for 11 from three, says so much about who this player really is and why the Magic would never dream of entertaining moving off their young star.
"Paolo is a playoff riser," Wendell Carter said in the locker room after Game 5. "He has been like that since he got into this league. It's nothing short of what we expect from him. His confidence, his determination on both ends of the court. He did a fantastic job today. Collectively, if we do a little bit better, we win this game. He was terrific tonight."
Paolo Banchero's performance was only topped by a matching 45-point effort from Cade Cunningham, allowing the Pistons to stave off elimination for the moment.
And Banchero still had his warts -- six turnovers and seven missed free throws in 12 attempts in a seven-point loss.
But Banchero also scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, making four three-pointers and 7 of 10 shots overall, to erase a 15-point deficit and get the Magic within three on a 3-pointer with about a minute to play.
He willed the team into the game the way a star is supposed to on an off defensive night. He put the Magic in a position to win.
"I thought Paolo was aggressive as heck," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Game 5. "I thought he was trying to make the right plays at the right time, getting downhill, attacking the basket, getting to the free throw line so he can put pressure on the rim there. That's what we needed him to do. With bodies down, his ability to attack and keep us in the game. I thought that was big time."
He must do so again in Game 6 to clinch his first playoff series victory.
Rising to the challenge
Paolo Banchero's Playoff credentials are really unassailable in his first two postseasons.
He averaged 27.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in the seven-game series with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2024. He upped his game again with 29.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game against the Boston Celtics in 2025.
The Magic can count on Banchero in these moments. They expect him to be a huge performer and carry the team through the Playoffs.
"He's elite," Jalen Suggs said in the locker room after Game 5. "Obviously, he has had some special ones in the regular season. Every time this time of year rolls around, you just see how he turns them up. What it does to him as a player. Good to be around him. I love competing with him because he's a dog. He brings it out of me. I try to do my best to help bring it out of him as well. He's a great player and tonight was no different."
This season has felt a bit different. Orlando has not quite gotten this dog out of him consistently.
Banchero had a down season by his own measurements, finishing the regular season at 22.2 points per game despite a career-high in field goal percentage and rebounds this season. Injuries slowed him down. And he never quite looked like the dominant scorer he was in his previous seasons.
This has been an uncharacteristic playoff performance.
The 45-point game raised his average to 25.8 points per game. But Game 5 and a 25-point, 12-rebound, 9-assist showing in Game 3 are the only two games with 25 points or more. He had 21 in Game 1 and 18 in Games 2 and 4. He is shooting only 42.9 percent from the floor in the playoff series with the Detroit Pistons.
Despite leading 3-1 in the series, no one was quite sure if Banchero had this kind of shot-making and burst still in him. Especially to match a desperate Pistons team.
A big Banchero game was what Game 5 called for. It gave the Magic their best chance to win.
Winning is the measurement
Ultimately, all Paolo Banchero did was give the Orlando Magic that chance to win. They could not get over the finish line and finish the series. They will return home Friday in Game 6 to do that, or face elimination themselves once again on the road in Detroit.
Cade Cunningham and his 45-point performance had a lot to do that. The game was the first dueling 45-point Playoff games the league had seen since the 2020 first-round clash between Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray.
Banchero was unimpressed with his showing. He wanted the win more.
"In the heat of the moment, you're not really thinking about it, you're just trying to get the win," Banchero said after Game 5. "But one day we'll look back and say that was a hell of a game. Me and him have been going at it since the AAU days. No surprise that it happened."
Simply put, Paolo Banchero explained that with Franz Wagner out, he needed to be more aggressive to pick up the slack. That is something Magic fans have begged from him with Wagner out for so long. He delivered that.
The goal for this team and for Banchero remains the same. The measure of success remains the same.
Ever since Banchero got a taste of advancing in the 2024 series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he has been adamant on his focus of getting out of the first round. Despite the injuries, he was not enthused with the five-game series loss to the Boston Celtics. He wanted to get out of the first round.
For a player of his caliber, he knows that wins are the only measurement that matters.
The Magic are ready to ride him for as far as he can take them.
"His ability to make tough shots is up there with everybody in the league," Anthony Black said after Game 5. "We trust him in those situations. Tonight shows why we trust him and why we're going to rock with him until we can't."
The Magic will need another big effort from Banchero to clinch this series. They know he is set to step up again.
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