Former Duke basketball star Paolo Banchero is the second-youngest Magic player to ever score 40 or more in a game.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal scored forty points in a game against the Orlando Magic in 1993, one month shy of turning twenty-one. O’Neal finished with 46 points in that loss. Paolo Banchero, a basketball player for Duke who turned 21 a month later, became the youngest member of the franchise to do so in thirty years.
In his 38 minutes on the court on Wednesday night, Banchero recorded 42 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game ended 121-111. He made 16 of 26 field goals, 1 of 5 shots from beyond the arc, and 9 of 12 shots from the charity stripe.
Before then, in November 2022, early in the former No. 1 overall draft pick’s NBA Rookie of the Year campaign, the Seattle native’s career-high point total was 33.
According to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, after his game in Cleveland, the elite NBA Blue Devil revealed to the press that a security guard for the Magic had predicted his 40-burger.
“During warmups, Marty, our security guard, came up to me and was like, ‘[You] got a 40-ball tonight,'” Paolo Banchero related the story. “Yeah, I feel good,” I replied. And indeed, it did occur. Thus, kudos to Marty. It’s possible that he cast some fortunate charms
His season average reached a career-high 20.6 points thanks to that good luck. In addition to scoring 49.2 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 67.7 percent at the free throw line, he adds 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
He and the Magic (14–7), who have now dropped two straight games after putting the league on notice with nine straight victories, are back in Orlando this Friday at 7 p.m. ET to play the Detroit Pistons (2–19).
Wendell Carter Jr., Orlando’s other former Duke basketball one-and-done player, is still sidelined due to a hand injury.
Leave a Reply