SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 24: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates a basket against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Chase Center on March 24, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Paolo Banchero matched a LeBron James feat in his first game in the NBA as he turned out for Orlando Magic against the Detroit Pistons.
LeBron James is one of the best basketball players of all time, and his storied, glorious career is full of incredible records that will not be a mean task to equal – let alone break. However, every once in a while there is an outlier of a performance that comes along against all odds – and that is what happened on rookie Paolo Banchero’s record-equalling NBA debut for the Orlando Magic.
Banchero, an American-Italian power forward was picked as the first overall pick in the 2022 Draft by the Orlando Magic. Following a freshman season where he turned out for the Duke Blue Devils in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) where he won rookie of the year – the 19 year old Banchero was picked by the Orlando Magic as the first choice pick in the 2022 Draft.
Banchero made his NBA debut for the Magic against the Detroit Pistons – and even though his game ended in a losing cause, the rookie made quite the early reputation for himself. In fact, Banchero was so good that he ended up equalling the debut record of a certain LeBron James.
Banchero’s debut was the best by any rookie in the NBA since LeBron James.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft played like a future star in his debut for the Magic on Wednesday, posting 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a 113-109 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The result wasn’t what the Magic were hoping for, but Banchero was – as the 19-year-old dominated in the paint and went into a list consisting two of the absolute greats of the game.
In fact, since 1969, only three No. 1 overall picks have dropped 25+ PTS, 5+ REB, and 5+ AST in their NBA debut: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Banchero. This statistic will certainly motivate the rookie to fulfil his potential that looks sky high at the moment.
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