Paolo Banchero Articles - Page 8

The Orlando Magic are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 record, hoping to take the next step in their evolution as possible contenders under Coach Jamahl Mosley. Reigning, defending Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero got real about the team’s winning mindset under Mosley this season. A worrisome late-breaking injury situation involving Markelle […]

Orlando Magic big-man Paolo Banchero has had a bit of a slow start to the season, but he made up for it in a big way Thursday night. Banchero went off for a season-high 30 points, which included the go-ahead driving layup with 14.1 seconds left, as the Magic defeated the Utah Jazz 115-113 on […]

Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic lost 118-102 to the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night, and a big reason for that was Banchero struggling to score efficiently. After the game, the second-year Magic star acknowledged he’s struggling so far early in the season, but says he’s ultimately not concerned. “‘My main focus is trying to […]

Following the Orlando Magic’s narrow 106-103 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, teammates Gary Harris and Markelle Fultz addressed Paolo Banchero’s early-season challenges. Banchero, who has been a focal point for the Magic’s offense, has struggled in the early part of the season. Through the first three games, Banchero averaged 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds, […]

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero is showcasing significant strides in his defensive play this season. Banchero’s defensive prowess was highlighted by teammate Jonathan Isaac in a recent Sunday practice. Isaac, who often faces off against Banchero, observed:  “I’d say he’s definitely growing in that regard and it’s something that he definitely has worked on during […]

The Orlando Magic, who landed in the middle of the pack at 15th in defense last season, are setting their sights higher for the 2023-24 campaign. The team allowed an average of 114 points per game, with a defensive rating of 113.7, placing them near the league’s bottom half. Nevertheless, with elite defenders like Jonathan […]

The Orlando Magic haven’t made the playoffs since the 2019-2020 season. With the roster the Magic have currently constructed, Patrick Beverley thinks it doesn’t make sense they haven’t made the postseason. In ESPN’s yearly top 100 list, Franz Wagner was listed at No. 52 while Paolo Banchero came in at No. 30. Beverley took offense […]

To become an All-Star in the NBA is one of the greatest achievements any player can reach. Such an honor signifies that they are one of a few illustrious talents in the world and that the rest of the league views them as such. Year-after-year, we see various players make their first-ever NBA All-Star Game, […]

Washington football hosting Oregon football was the game of the week in college football this weekend, and it certainly lived up to the hype. The game was a back and forth thriller, and it came right down to the wire. Oregon had a chance to ice the win but Washington got a big stop late. […]

The Orlando Magic have a very bright outlook for the 2023-24 season, especially after they were essentially a .500 team through a good chunk of the campaign. Orlando boasts one of the league’s promising young cores led by reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero and recently crowned FIBA World Cup champ Franz Wagner. But […]

As a result of their strong finish to the 2022-23 NBA season, the Orlando Magic look poised to take the next step into competing for a playoff spot. After starting the campaign 5-20, Orlando went 29-28 the rest of the year, essentially becoming a .500 team through the final two-thirds of the regular season. The […]

After starting the 2022-23 season with a 5-20 record and looking like they would once again have a shot at the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic started to find rhythm. Coaching one of the youngest teams in the league, Jamahl Mosley seemed to find something last year, as the Magic […]

The Orlando Magic roster is full of young talent at nearly every position. They also now have a veteran scorer in Joe Ingles who could teach them better ways of handling pressure inside the court. This means that there is likely a player who could break into stardom in the upcoming NBA season. Markelle Fultz […]

Although the Orlando Magic have not been able to surpass more than 34 wins since the 2018-19 season, they enter the new year with a somewhat lofty over under win total projection. This summer, they have been one of the least talked about teams in the off-season primarily because of their silence in free agency and on […]

Paolo Banchero’s rookie season for the Orlando Magic, by all accounts, was a rousing success. Outside of a putrid three-point cold spell in February, Banchero displayed his potential as a lead scoring option for the Magic down the line, showcasing rare playmaking and dribbling for his size as well as shot-creation fluidity that bodes well […]

The Orlando Magic are building. After winning just 21 and then 22 games in the previous two seasons, they jumped up to 34 in 2022-23, and the list of young talent they’ve steadily compiled is actually beginning to look pretty imposing. They’ll be looking to continue their improvement this season, and these are three burning […]

The Orlando Magic have a lot of young talent on their roster currently, and it’s clear that of that group, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are leading the way. Banchero and Wagner have tons of potential that they began to tap into last season, but ahead of the 2023-24 season, their head coach Jamahl Mosley […]

Who is the best player in the NBA? This is a question basketball fans debate every single year, and it’s one that often has no right answer. MVP candidates such as Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry and LeBron James are obviously amongst the best of the best, but one player cannot win […]

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Orlando Magic make a jump to becoming a playoff team next season. Through the latter half of the 2022-23 season, it just looked like this Magic squad was on the cusp of a leap and a breakout this upcoming 2023-24 campaign is just waiting to happen. After starting […]

After all of the mocking and “F group” proclamations, USA winning the FIBA World Cup would been a fitting and triumphant end to this battle for global hoops supremacy. It would not have been the most original script, to be sure, but still a somewhat intriguing one. This is not the NFL, though. Nor is […]

Ever since Team USA drew Italy as their quarterfinal opponent in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, all eyes turned to Paolo Banchero. The young Orlando Magic star raised some eyebrows before the tournament when he ultimately opted to turn down an opportunity to lead Italy during the tournament to play with the Americans instead, which […]

Any Italians who were still feeling hurt by Paolo Banchero’s decision to represent the United States in the FIBA World Cup instead of them are unlikely to change their stance after the Orlando Magic forward’s most recent media session. Ahead of Team USA’s upcoming quarterfinal mathcup against Italy, a reporter asked the reigning NBA Rookie […]

It’s win or go home now for Team USA and the rest of the world at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Team USA finished a strong group-stage performance with a disappointing loss to Lithuania 110-104 early Sunday morning. There, facing off against a fellow Round 1 group winner, some of the flaws and challenges Team […]

Many budding NBA stars have used stints with Team USA as a springboard to reaching new heights the following season. Could reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero be next to follow in those well-trod footsteps first laid by Kevin Durant more than a decade ago? If the Orlando Magic take a page from Banchero’s […]

Forced to play center in USA basketball’s FIBA World Cup opener game against New Zealand, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero stepped up and led the team with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and four blocks. Paolo Banchero was key today in USA's W vs. New Zealand 🔑 21 PTS8-10 FG4 BLK USA wins […]

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 […]

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero is coming off of a great first season in the league after winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. As Paolo Banchero continues to get better for Team USA in preparation for the FIBA World Cup, former NBA guard Isaiah Thomas has some high praise for the young Magic […]

Even though Seattle is still yearning to have an NBA team again, the city has not really stopped producing good NBA players. Among the great ones are former NBA vet Jamal Crawford and rising star Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic. And for free agent guard Isaiah Thomas, Crawford is still the best player from […]

The Team USA roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup features a handful of All-Stars talents, as well as rising stars in the NBA. Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero is one of these rising stars and he is coming off of a fantastic rookie season in which he was awarded the league’s Rookie of the […]

Paolo Banchero’s decision to represent USA instead of Italy in the FIBA World Cup has generated plenty of headlines this offseason. After all, there were expectations that the Orlando Magic forward would play for Italy–and even committed to it–before he made a U-Turn and joined Team USA. Of course it wasn’t an easy decision for […]

In Oct. 2022, then rookie Paolo Banchero told former Orlando Magic teammate R.J. Hampton that he was playing for Italy’s men’s national basketball team rather than Team USA on The Young Person Basketball Podcast by Fubo Sports (h/t Joe Vardon of The Athletic). However, if one believes time can be defined as the distance between […]

Given all the success he has had as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors through the years, as well as an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski with the national team, it was a no-brainer decision for USA Basketball to make Steve Kerr their head coach. While the upcoming 2023-24 season is definitely on […]

The Orlando Magic look ready to take a leap next season following their strong finish to the 2022-23 campaign. After beginning the regular season with a 5-20 record, Orlando found its stride and became a .500 team, going 29-28 the rest of the way. Nonetheless, as we dive deeper into NBA free agency, the Magic […]

The young upstart Orlando Magic seem poised to take a leap next season following their encouraging finish to the 2022-23 campaign. After starting the regular season with a 5-20 mark, Orlando found its stride and essentially became a .500 team, going 29-28 the rest of the way. With that said, the Magic should target a […]

San Antonio Spurs’ 2023 Draft No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama is setting some lofty goals ahead of his rookie season. When asked on what would be a successful rookie year for him, Wembanyama told ESPN, “I’ve been looking into all the data of the past years, the past number one picks, and what impact […]

The Orlando Magic have been relatively quiet in 2023 NBA free agency. The Magic’s biggest free agency addition came in the form of a two-year, $22 million contract to Joe Ingles. Orlando resisted the temptation to offer a max contract or something close to one of the best veterans available—namely Fred VanVleet. It was the […]

A younger team on the rise in the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic are not far off from being a team that can compete for a playoff spot. They won 34 games this past year for the first time since the 2018-19 season and with 2022 first overall pick Paolo Banchero leading the charge for […]

Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic has been selected to play with Team USA this summer in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley was pumped up for Banchero to get this experience. “I think it is such a great experience,” Jamahl Mosley said, via Cody Taylor of USA Today. “To […]

The Orlando Magic are expected to reach an agreement with veteran sharpshooter Joe Ingles, per Turner Sports insider Chris Haynes. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal will be for two years and $22 million. Free agent F Joe Ingles has agreed on a two-year, $22 million contract with the Orlando Magic, his agent Mark […]