The spotlight was on Paolo Banchero throughout the season. It has always been on Banchero.
That comes with being the No. 1 pick, a max-contract player (with all the bells and whistles) and carrying the weight of being a franchise player.
Paolo Banchero knows he cannot win big without his running partner Franz Wagner. But last season, with Wagner out with a high ankle sprain, it was Banchero's chance to silence a lot of doubters.
That was perhaps the biggest frustration of the Magic's 2026 season. The Magic went 26-25 in the 51 games Wagner essentially missed in the regular season (he made two two-game cameos) and Banchero faced plenty of criticism over a struggling jumper, poor impact stats and the team's poor performance.
To further highlight that uncertainty. The Magic lost all three games Wagner missed in the Playoffs, losing a 3-1 series lead. Banchero's individual performance was stellar -- 45 points in the Game 5 duel with Cade Cunningham and 38 points in the Game 7 defeat.
But Game 6 hangs over everyone's head. A 17-point, 10-rebound, six-assist effort on 4-for-20 shooting -- and 0-for-9 from three -- could not prevent that embarrassing defeat and that embarrassing second half.
Banchero is not judging himself by his individual stats. He wants to win.
And ultimately, he looks back at his 2026 season as a bitter disappointment. The questions surrounding him this offseason -- including quiet trade pitches -- were brought on by that season.
Banchero has a lot to prove this season. He seems determined to have a better season.
"Last year was the most difficult it had been. Last year was a frustrating season for me and the organization, just in general," Banchero said on the Internal Reps podcast in August. "You've just got to stay even-keeled and know that is going to come back 10-fold, even with the struggling and the up-and-down season. I guarantee I'm going to look back in 15 years, and that year taught me a lot and propelled me to the player I will be."
Orlando is getting a second chance -- with a new coach. Banchero is as key as any piece of it.
A team goes as far as the star goes and Banchero can still take this team far. It is a big season for him.
An up-and-down 2026
It has been a long time since Paolo Banchero's All-Star season in 2024 and the breakout of his first five games in the 2025 season before he tore his oblique.
Banchero still consistently puts up big scoring numbers. But he has also struggled to make a clear impact on winning. The Magic have yet to have a positive net rating with Banchero on the floor -- it came in at -0.2 last year, the second-best of his career.
His 2026 season was a mixed bag.
Last year, Banchero averaged 22.2 points per game and a career-high 8.2 rebounds per game, along with 5.2 assists per game. He was one of six players in the entire league with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game.
Banchero is indeed playing in rarified air.
And to silence some of his doubters, he posted a career-best 45.9 percent shooting and a career-best 56.6 percent true shooting percentage. It is progress, at least.
But it was clear something was off.
Banchero shot only 30.5 percent on pull-up field goals, according to data from Second Spectrum. He looked noticeably more ground-bound, perhaps contributing to his poor shooting at the rim -- 62.7 percent within five feet, the 13th-worst among players with at least five such attempts, but notably better than Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey.
Ultimately, the only stat that matters for Banchero is winning. And it was clear that Banchero was left second-guessing himself at times.
In the Play-In Tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Banchero passed on several open shots as the Orlando Magic struggled to keep up with the Sixers. He said after the game that the basketball gods punish those who hesitate.
As if to drive that point home, he returned a few days later with 25 points in a 31-point shellacking of the Charlotte Hornets to punch the spot in the playoffs.
The beast can be woken.
A big season is necessary
If everyone can acknowledge that Paolo Banchero did not have the season he hoped for, the question is what will he do about it?
That could determine much of the Orlando Magic's season. A Banchero who is more focused and determined is something that could be truly terrifying for the league.
A lot of the NBA world is curious how the Magic will treat its two stars. That answer comes with how the team plays this season. And while there are plenty of other factors that go into winning and determining a champion, a lot of it comes down to the star players.
Banchero has shown a lot of hints of being the superstar the Magic imagine. He will have long stretches where he is a battering ram and bulldozer that few teams can even pretend to have an answer for.
He, like so much of this Orlando team, is trying to put all the pieces together. This season feels like an ultimatum for him nd the team to do that.
"I think that's one of the bigger differences between me as a rookie and me now is the next-play mentality," Banchero said on Internal Reps. "That ability to have a short-term memory. Good or bad. You don't want to drink the Kool-Aid when you are playing well, start to relax and let your guard down."
If the Magic want to have a breakthrough season, they will need a breakthrough year from Banchero. The East is only tougher now. But the Magic have the talent and capability to compete.
Banchero has seemingly taken that to heart. He looks noticeably slimmer. Pickup runs in Los Angeles showed him playing with much more pace and speed. Things seem to be trending in the right direction.
But nobody will truly know until the season starts in October.
It was a rough season for Banchero last year. He knows he must make the 2027 season a brighter one for himself and his team.
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