Paolo Banchero's days of being overlooked are numbered

Paolo Banchero's career to this point has been filled with endless and often tedious debate about his status as a star. The national media is starting to push back and give him the respect he deserves.
Paolo Banchero has largely operated without a spotlight in his career. That is going to change as the Orlando Magic enter the contending scene.
Paolo Banchero has largely operated without a spotlight in his career. That is going to change as the Orlando Magic enter the contending scene. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

It is now the part of the summer when there is not much going on in the NBA world. Everyone is compiling their lists and debating topics on the Internet. Anything to get engagement this time of year, right?

There is a growing sport of downgrading Paolo Banchero in these never-ending games of "start, bench or cut." There are very few people who have watched Banchero play because the Orlando Magic are so rarely on national TV. And far too many people are obsessed with advanced stats and numbers without exploring context or watching games.

It is why when some basketball pundits try to argue Paolo Banchero is a better player than Victor Wembanyama, it is met with apoplectic reaction. There is just more exposure to Wembanyama to the national public.

Banchero appears to be the primary target of most of the online world's hatred. He is the superstar nobody has seen, and so nobody can appreciate. He is a player many have written off as from a bygone era, even though he has plenty of modern sensibilities.

Banchero is a superstar in waiting and nobody seems to know it.

In most situations, Paolo Banchero would be clearly celebrated as one of the best young players in the league. He would be viewed as one of the future stars of Team USA. And they would be looking forward to this season as the Magic made those moves to become more consistent contenders.

To be sure, this is the season when Banchero enters the national conversation. This is a season where the Magic will have a bigger spotlight on them.

It is not just the heightened expectations the Magic have put on themselves. As one of the betting favorites in the Eastern Conference, the Magic should be on national TV a lot more.

With that attention has come a new wave of national defense for Banchero, priming a national audience for what should be a strong year.

Zach Lowe said he is buying all the Paolo Banchero stock he can this summer, saying that he has proven himself as a playoff riser and someone who will perform on a big stage even with little offensive support.

The Club 520 Podcast with Jeff Teague went a bit further and a bit bolder, debating whether Paolo Banchero is the best player in the Eastern Conference for this upcoming season (podcast is NSFW).

Teague's Club 520 Podcast can reach for headlines and hot takes. But the conversation is a real one. It is not so far-fetched to believe Banchero might be among the best players in the Eastern Conference.

He is not merely a star in waiting, he is a superstar in waiting. Nobody nationally seems to realize it.

This season will change that.

Paolo Banchero has worked in too much anonymity

Paolo Banchero has not been helped by a seeming lack of attention.

Despite being the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic got just one nationally televised game during his rookie year. And that game was pulled because of an injury to second overall pick Chet Holmgren.

Draft companions like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams have benefited from being part of title-contending teams to get their national profile up. Both of those players have starred in their roles the same way Banchero has for the Magic. But their stats look cleaner for the support they have and playing alongside MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Neither is asked to carry their team every night.

Victor Wembanyama, taken with the No. 1 pick the year after Paolo Banchero, was an immediate marketing sensation, putting the San Antonio Spurs on national TV seemingly every game. Wembanyama is certainly deserving of the attention.

He is a once-in-a-lifetime prospect. And the league rightly put a lot behind him. But the difference between the amount of attention a young All-Star like Wembanyama got in his career compared to Banchero seemed a bit much.

Banchero was a clear star in the making that was maybe hurt by the uncertainty of his status as the top pick in his Draft.

But Banchero is the kind of player the league typically likes to promote. He averaged 25.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game last year, hitting an array of tough shots and playing a physical brand of basketball to get his points and get to his spots.

He has put up impressive numbers to keep his Magic team afloat and secure a spot in the Playoffs. The Magic have a fairly deep team with young talent. But Banchero was the catalyst.

Paolo Banchero is starting to get the national respect he deserves

The problem has been the rest of the world has been slow to catch up to that.

Orlando had just one national TV appearance in Banchero's first two seasons. He operated fairly anonymously to the point that he was not the unanimous rookie of the year despite his stellar scoring numbers. This is a reason as much as anything for all the criticisms of his game.

Banchero can and should get better. But there is a more concerted effort to push back against criticisms of his game from the national media. There is a course correction in the discussion about Banchero's game.

Nobody is brushing off concerns about his efficiency and shooting. Everyone acknowledges that he needs to improve. But there is more focus on the context of those stats and stating plainly that the Magic had a lot of flaws that were difficult for him to overcome.

After all, after the All-Star Break when Banchero was fully recovered from a torn oblique, he averaged 29.0 points per game on 47.3/33.3/78.3 shooting splits. That still leaves room for improvement, but his 58.3 percent true shooting percentage was seventh among rotation players with a usage rate of 30 percent or higher after the break.

Banchero may have made that leap already. Nobody noticed because the Magic operated so anonymously.

Orlando is in the spotlight more now. The Magic should get more than the five national TV appearances that were doled out to them last year -- after winning 47 games and earning the 5-seed in the East. They are a bigger story for the NBA.

And that puts Banchero in the spotlight he has earned and duly deserves.