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Last season, the Orlando Magic took a huge leap, making the playoffs and putting up a solid showing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. Magic star Paolo Banchero is off to a strong start to the year and he just made NBA history with his stat line against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, as per StatMuse.
The Magic defeated the Pacers, 119-115, with Paolo Banchero putting up the first 50 point, 13 rebound, nine assist, two blocked shots and three three-pointers made stat line in league history. The 50 points are a career-high for Banchero. He shot 16-of-26 from the field, 3-of-9 from the three-point line and 15-of-22 from the free-throw line.
Banchero is helping power the Magic’s early 3-1 start to the season. The fourth-year player has blossomed into a legit franchise player for the Magic.
Orlando is hoping to continue their ascent in the Eastern Conference with Banchero at the helm. Last season they finished with a top five record in the East standings before falling in the first round of the playoffs against the Cavs in seven games.
That broke a three-year drought of the Magic missing the postseason. The last time they had made the playoffs was during the bubble season in 2019-20. With Banchero in the fold, those playoff appearances will only increase.
Paolo Banchero is the Magic’s franchise star
When the Magic drafted Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, they envisioned him becoming the next big star in franchise history. Well, he’s arrived.
With his 50-point performance on Monday against the Pacers, he became the first Magic player since Tracy McGrady back in 2004 to reach that scoring mark. He had 37 points at halftime, which also tied a McGrady feat in terms of most points by a Magic player in the first half of a game.
Coming into the game against the Pacers, Banchero had been averaging 21.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists with splits of 40.8 percent shooting from the field, 42.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 60 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Despite the Magic’s loss to the Cavs in the playoffs, Banchero let the world know he had arrived. He put up 27.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 45.6 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from the three-point line and 75.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Another encouraging sign is Banchero’s free-throw attempts. He’s averaged around seven attempts at the line per game his first two seasons, but this year he’s up at around ten per game.
