The 2023 FIBA World Cup is a great opportunity for Paolo Banchero to grow. The Orlando Magic forward will be playing in highly competitive matchups in a new position for Team USA.

Banchero has been tasked with playing center for Team USA. While Jaren Jackson Jr. mans the starting lineup, the reigning Rookie of the Year has played alongside Bobby Portis Jr. in the frontcourt in a bench lineup with Tyrese Haliburton, Josh Hart, Austin Reaves and Cam Johnson, making him the biggest player of the group. The Magic star said to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that playing center, which he doesn’t do with Orlando, is “a huge adjustment.”

“I’ve just been trying to accept the role and being the best I can at it,” Banchero said to Yahoo Sports. “The biggest thing for me is doing whatever I can to find my way on the floor. I really don’t care what it is, even if it’s not scoring. Having to defend, having to rebound.”

Paolo Banchero is one of the few Team USA players to play a new position. As other NBA starters find themselves coming off the bench and playing fewer minutes than usual, the Magic youngster has been given a role that he is not used to. Few players on the team are playing with an NBA teammate anyway but that is nonetheless not an advantage Banchero has.

While the role is something he is still working to get used to, Banchero chose to play for the star-studded American team over the Italian team, where he would have been the focal point. He surely understood things would be different, though perhaps not in this exact way.

This new role should be quite helpful for Banchero, though. If he can be comfortable doing big-man things, it could allow the Magic to use him in different ways and deploy different lineups. Unpredictability will aid the young team as they try to grow into a competitive squad.

Paolo Banchero's sacrifice won’t go unnoticed by Team USA, who went undefeated in its five friendly matches and will open its tournament slate on Saturday against New Zealand.