Paolo Napoleon James Banchero is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.
Paolo Banchero: Draft profile| Highlights| Points| Disease
https://youtu.be/QIpx1gJkJ08
Draft profile:
Paolo Banchero began his Duke career with a 22-point, seven-rebound outing vs. then-No. 10 Kentucky that thrust him into frontrunner status to be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
He finished his Duke career with 20 points and 10 boards vs. North Carolina in the Final Four and retained his standing as a legitimate contender to be this year’s top pick.
Highlights:
Shooting it from deep and defending at a high level are the only two things keeping him from becoming the consensus top prospect. He can knock down 3-pointers, but he made just 33.8% of them at Duke.
He can defend and hold up physically, but switching onto the perimeter and maintaining effort and focus was hit or miss at times in college.
Points:
1st among true freshmen in the 2021-22 season in scoring: 17.2 points per game.
5th among true freshmen in the 2021-22 season in field-goal percentage: 47.8 percent. 6th among true freshmen in the 2021-22 season in rebounding: 7.8 rebounds per game.
The appeal with Banchero lies in his polish. He’s an incredible offensive weapon who thrives in the mid-range.
Disease:
Duke star Paolo Banchero is projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2022 NBA draft. But there are some health issues he needs to address first.
We have Banchero, a 6-foot-10 forward who just turned 19 years old, at the top of our most recent mock draft for a reason. Banchero finds ways to beat his man in the low post just as easily as he can hit his pull-up jumper off the dribble. When he is cutting to the basket, he appears nearly unstoppable.
