Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic fell 117-99 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, but Orlando's star big man still had something to smile about.
Banchero made a little history in the third quarter, according to Magic PR:
“With a 3-point FG at 10:42 of the 3rd quarter tonight at Milwaukee, @OrlandoMagic forward @Pp_doesit joins Luka Doncic has the only players in @NBAHistory to amass 3,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds and 200+ 3-pointers during their first two #NBA seasons.”
Despite the loss, Banchero had another solid performance for the Magic. He scored 20 points and notched six rebounds and six assists.
After being selected by the Magic with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Banchero has excelled. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2023.
However, nobody but the most optimistic Magic fans would have predicted that Banchero would become this caliber of player this quickly. On the season, Banchero is averaging 22.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. he is also shooting nearly 34 percent from the 3-point line and was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career.
Any time a player is on par with Luka Doncic is when NBA fans should sit up and take notice. While Banchero had high expectations as the top overall pick, he's displaying a versatility and all-round effectiveness to his game that has the entire league taking notice.
Paolo Banchero leading the Magic to the playoffs
Banchero and the Magic have surprised this season, sitting at 46-34 with two games left in the NBA regular season. That puts Orlando in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but just a game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and one and a half games behind the New York Knicks for fourth and third place, respectively.
One proponent of the Magic is none other than former NBA guard Austin Rivers, who recently took to ESPN's NBA Today to issue a strong warning to the rest of the Eastern Conference not to take Orlando lightly.
“We always talk about the Knicks, the big market teams, the Lakers, the Warriors,” said Rivers, per Sean Green on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “But the Orlando Magic just have been creeping the whole way through, they play harder than anybody in the NBA. We don't talk about Franz (Wagner), we don't talk about Paolo. This is a team built by a young core. They just extended coach (Jamahl) Mosley, shoutout to him, he deserves flowers for that.”
The Magic's seeding will come down to the end of the regular season. They'll have their work cut out for them as they finish the year against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday and then have a rematch against the Bucks on Sunday at home.
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