Banchero becomes third Magic player to ever win Rookie of the Year award
ORLANDO - Paolo Banchero proved all season long that he was the right choice for the Orlando Magic with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-10 versatile forward out of Duke University averaged 20 points, over six rebounds and over three assists – the 12th NBA rookie to ever reach those marks – and helped Orlando notch 12 more victories than the prior season.
So, when the NBA announced Tuesday night that he had won the 2022-23 Kia Rookie of the Year award in a landslide, the news came as no surprise.
The 20-year-old Banchero, now the third Magic player to ever win this honor along with Shaquille O’Neal (1992-93) and Mike Miller (2000-01), received 98 out of the possible 100 first-place votes. Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder came in second place and Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz finished third.
“I remember when I first got drafted, Mike Miller (Banchero’s agent), who also won Rookie of the Year for the Magic, looked at me and he asked me if I was going to be Rookie of the Year, and I pridefully said yes,” Banchero said on the NBA on TNT Pregame Show during an interview with Ernie Johnson, O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith right after the announcement was made. “It was just a goal I’ve always had, something I had my eye on from the second I got drafted. I’m glad I was able to do it.”
Just from a statistical standpoint, Banchero was head and shoulders above his peers. Right out of the gate, he became the sixth player in NBA history to score 20-plus points in each of his first six games. The others to do it were Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elvin Hayes, Dominique Wilkins and Grant Hill.
Banchero finished with 40 20-plus point games, which is exactly how many LeBron James had during his NBA rookie campaign with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003-04.
“You don’t ever think about it during the season – like you don’t have that number in your head or anything – but when the season is over and you see your accomplishments and what you were able to do and then you put it into perspective of what a guy like LeBron James (accomplished), it definitely means something, especially for me with him being one of my favorite players growing up,” Banchero said recently.
Numbers aside, Banchero handled the highs and lows as well as any rookie could. The Magic started the season 5-20, but from there went 29-28. It was the sixth time in franchise history they made at least a 12-win jump from one season to the next.
While encouraged by all of his individual achievements from throughout the year, which included being named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month four straight times to close out the season, pumping up Banchero the most is the team’s continued growth.
“The consistency that we came in with every day – whether we were 5-20 throughout that stretch and then just moving forward,” he said about what helped the team stay on track. “We didn’t get discouraged. We weren’t really even worried about it. We just kind of stayed with the plan, stayed together, and got through it. We started to win games and learned how to win. Also at the same time (we got) healthy and it all came together at the right time. And we were able to finish strong.”
Banchero is now the 22nd player that was selected first overall in an NBA Draft to win the Rookie of the Year award and ninth since 2000. O’Neal was also a first overall pick by the Magic. Miller was a fifth overall draft choice.
Banchero joined Hill, Elton Brand and Kyrie Irving as the only Duke alumni to win this award. Hill was a co-winner of this honor with Jason Kidd in the 1994-95 season, while Brand and Steve Francis shared it in the 1999-00 season.