NBA Scout Says Magic's Paolo Banchero Is Similar to Giannis: 'Going to Dominate You'
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero began his NBA career about as well as expected, dropping 20.0 points and 6.9 rebounds en route to Rookie of the Year honors
The former Duke star sports a sky-high NBA ceiling, and one anonymous league scout even believes Banchero may develop into "the Giannis mold" if he continues to put in the work.
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix provided the scout's remarks.
"Banchero will probably be a beast. You're always going to run into the fact that he can't shoot, but if he just keeps harnessing his physicality, if he works at it and all that stuff, as he develops as kind of an adult basketball player, he's in the Giannis mold. Not to that level, to that extreme, but that's the type of, "Okay, he can't shoot, but who cares?" He's just going to dominate you, he's going to eat up your space.
"He's just going to be such a pain in the ass because you can't switch guys onto him. I think he can make that jump, but we'll see. Playing for Team USA is going to help. It always does. He can be a small ball five for the Magic. That wouldn't be the worst thing. If you look at the Bucks, I think the mold for him is, how the Bucks utilize Giannis, and the Bucks kind of use him three through five. And that's Banchero too. He's not going near that level, but that's what you're hoping for."
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo's tremendous versatility and skillset have led to a career that's included two NBA MVP awards and a championship capped by a 50-point performance and an NBA Finals MVP honor.
He's gotten there despite struggling with his outside shot (28.7 percent lifetime from three-point range). Antetokounmpo makes up for it with tremendous efficiency from two-point range lifetime (58.3 percent), great scoring and rebounding (29.2 PPG and 12.1 RPG over his past five seasons) and defense (five-time All-NBA Defensive Team member).
The scout here obviously isn't saying Banchero is on a Giannis-like career trajectory, but the 6'10", 250-pound forward can certainly showcase the same versatility on offense and defense given his size, athleticism and tremendous feel for the game. The arrow on Banchero is pointing up, especially after he gained valuable experience with Team USA during this summer's FIBA World Cup.
We'll see how Banchero kicks off year two soon enough when the Magic host the Houston Rockets on Oct. 25.
