Paolo Banchero Scores 9 Points in Magic's Preseason Win Over Spurs

The Orlando Magic defeated the San Antonio Spurs 102-99 on Thursday night in preseason action at AT&T Center, but 2022 No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero had an underwhelming night.

Banchero notched nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor and 0-of-1 shooting from deep in 22 minutes. He also racked up four fouls through the first three quarters of action, which isn't ideal.

It marked the second straight game that Banchero had a rather unimpressive performance. In Orlando's first preseason game, a 109-97 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, he finished with eight points, two rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes.

Here are some of the highlights from Banchero's performance on Thursday:

The preseason has been a good learning experience for Banchero, who acknowledged after the loss to Memphis that he has some things to work on moving forward.

"They played fast-paced, for sure," Banchero said, per Matt Giles of Sports Illustrated. "It was a good experience to get out there against a good team and great players and be able to make mistakes but obviously, get to go back, watch film, know what you did wrong and adjust."

Banchero added that he needs to start making his reads quicker on the pick-and-roll as both the handler and roller.

Orlando has three more preseason games before opening the regular season against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 19. The Magic will be hoping Banchero makes the necessary adjustments by the time the games start counting.