On Thursday, the Orlando Magic selected Paolo Banchero with the first top choice in the NBA Draft. Check out complete details about it below.
Paolo Banchero is the first choice in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic
Following taking the Blue Devils to the Last Four in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s season finale, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver named the 6-foot-10 big first in the draught, knocking over other first-year players Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith Jr.
Banchero, who scored 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 39 games for Duke in his one year there, now seeks to change around the Magic’s 22-win, 60-loss season.
Paolo Banchero have also shared that it was surprising to him too. But he is prepared.
Smith was largely projected to be the first overall pick in the weeks preceding down to the draught. However, the Magic flipped everything upside down by capturing Banchero. Throughout the process, the sequence has been contested, with Smith frequently regarded the player who would go first. Instead, he finished third, trailing only Holmgren and Houston.
Although Banchero was a stunner at No. 1, Holmgren was always projected to take the second choice and head to Oklahoma City. Holmgren, a 7-footer from Gonzaga, showed a broad variety of talents in his only season in college, scoring 14.1 points on 60% shooting total and 39% from 3-point range, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocked shots in 26.9 minutes in 32 games.
Forward Keegan Murray rose all the way to the No. 4 selection by the Sacramento Kings after making a tremendous breakthrough in his second season in Iowa. A year after selecting Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Jaden Ivey in the fifth round.
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