Duke basketball product Paolo Banchero is in rare company with the numbers he has put up as an up-and-coming NBA sensation.
On Tuesday night, former Duke basketball one-and-done Paolo Banchero notched the 100th appearance of his pro career. He finished with 24 points, three rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block in the Orlando Magic’s 127-119 road win over the Washington Wizards.
It was just an average outing for the 21-year-old Banchero.
But the 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward, who went No. 1 at the 2022 NBA Draft after leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four in the final year of Mike Krzyzewski’s career, officially joined a shortlist of players across the past 40 years who have averaged at least 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists through their first 100 games in the NBA.
That now-eight-deep list includes the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Luka Doncic. And Banchero is one of two Blue Devils on it, along with former two-time Duke basketball national champ and all-time program great Grant Hill, a seven-time NBA All-Star who played six seasons in Orlando during the middle of his pro career:
Speaking of All-Star Magic talents (two of Hill’s All-Star campaigns came during his time in Orlando), Paolo Banchero has put himself in the conversation for that distinction this season after becoming the NBA Rookie of the Year last season.
Not only is Banchero averaging 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.0 steals this go-round, but he also hasn’t missed a game for a young, inspired Magic squad that sits at No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings with an 18-11 record.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Banchero’s career averages through his first 100 contests in the league (20.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists) are remarkably similar to those of Hill (20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists), who arguably remains the all-time greatest NBA Blue Devil.
Now, remember that Grant Hill, whose first All-Star nod came in his first season on his way to sharing NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd, spent four seasons in college. That makes what Paolo Banchero is doing even more impressive, considering he could be a junior in Durham this year.
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