The Orlando Magic definitely drafted a future superstar when they selected Paolo Banchero first overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. Banchero possesses a rare combination of ballhandling skill, scoring touch, and athleticism for a guy of his size (6'10, 250 lbs.). The Magic have drafted and traded for quality pieces in recent years, but Banchero has the potential to be the sun around which the Magic orbit.
In fact, Paolo Banchero is playing at such a high level as a rookie that he has amassed numbers that only Magic Johnson and Larry Bird have tallied through their first 31 games as professional basketball players.
Following a 25-point, eight-rebound, and seven-assist performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, Banchero now has 652 points, 208 rebounds, and 123 assists for his career. In the process, the 20-year old has become only the third rookie in NBA history to reach 600-plus points, 200-plus rebounds, and 120-plus assists in the first 31 games of their career, joining Magic Johnson and Larry Bird who accomplished the feat during their historic 1979-80 rookie campaigns, per Justin Kubatko of Statitudes LLC.
While those benchmarks are admittedly arbitrary, it still provides a glimpse of just how encompassing Paolo Banchero's impact is on the court. Perhaps at his peak, Banchero could function as a heliocentric source of offense, capable of becoming the supernova offensive force he's showing glimpses of becoming.
Moreover, to be mentioned in the same sentence as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird only bodes well for his future. For starters, Johnson and Bird have a combined six regular season MVPs, five finals MVPs and eight championships. Banchero truly has a long way to go before achieving even a modicum of what those two have accomplished, but his performance as a rookie provides enough hope that he could become one of this game's all-time greats when the time comes.