3 Rivals who should be on Paolo Banchero’s hit list next season
By Elaine Blum
Paolo Banchero is already the new face of the Orlando Magic and the engine powering the team’s return to the playoffs. Accomplishing that in just two seasons is quite the feat. Banchero has already been an All-Star and should be a staple at the All-Star game going forward.
Being an All-Star and the best player on a playoff team is not Banchero’s ceiling, however. He receives a lot of criticism focused on his inefficiency and still has plenty of work to do but so does every other young star in the league and Banchero has already done great things.
Yes, he needs to become a more efficient scorer and take care of the ball better. And yet, he is already carrying a young team with few offensive weapons as the primary scorer and playmaker.
Banchero has a chance to become one of the bigger names in his generation of basketball players. Not everyone talking about the NBA acknowledges that, though. So, Banchero will have to put up big games against some of the more prominent names and teams in the league and force himself into that conversation.
3. Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder
When it comes to the NBA the number one draft pick is often no question, even weeks before the draft. The 2022 NBA Draft was not like that. Jabari Smith Jr., Chet Holmgren, and Paolo Banchero all had a good chance to be the first overall pick. The Magic’s decision to draft Banchero ahead of the other two was somewhat of a surprise but it worked out. Banchero won the Rookie of the Year award, while Holmgren had to miss the season with an injury, and led his team to the playoffs just a season later.
Holmgren also plays on a playoff team—the youngest number-one seed in history—and looks like Banchero’s biggest competition from the top of the 2022 Draft class. They play different roles. While Banchero has to be the offensive engine on his team, Holmgren plays with an MVP candidate and plenty of other talented players. The Thunder are a few steps ahead of the Magic and already earned their status as contenders in the Western Conference.
All of this is why Chet Holmgren and his team should be on Banchero’s hit list next season. If Banchero can outplay Holmgren, he can prove that the Magic were right to draft him with the number one pick and he truly was the top prospect in his draft class. If the Magic can outplay the Thunder, it will announce to the league that there is another young team everyone needs to look out for.