Paulo Banchero good start for Orlando Magic.
The 2022 NBA Draft’s first overall pick scored his career high with 29 points in 10 of 19 shootings plus eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 37 minutes against the team. Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday. It was Banchero’s fifth consecutive game over 20 points since he started his NBA career, and it really puts him in elite company.
for every ESPN Statistics and InformationThe list of NBA players to start their career with five consecutive games over 20 points is:
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Paulo Banchero
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Wilt Chamberlain
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Elvin Hayes
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Grant Hill
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Oscar Robertson
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Dominic Wilkins
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John Williamson
That would be five Naismith Hall of Famers, Williamson (who entered the NBA after three seasons of ABA) and 19-year-old Banchero, the youngest of all those players when they achieved the feat. As an aside, if you ever need a reminder that Wilt Chamberlain was an alien, keep in mind he’s on that list because 56 games A streak of more than 20 points, that number would be 78 games for Lula’s nine-minute outing in his rookie year.
Banchero is also the first player to have at least 120 points, 35 rebounds, and 15 assists in his first five games since Wilkins did it in 1982-83. The tape lines up with the numbers:
So our best precedent for starting Banchero’s career is right in Springfield, Massachusetts. Does this mean definitively that Panchero will become a Hall of Fame? of course not. It’s exactly what you want to see when you’re Magic and you’ve chosen Banchero as one of the pillars of your franchise, much to the surprise of some observers.
It should be noted that this production did not translate into a win for Orlando, who now sits at 0-5 after losing 103-92 to the Cavaliers. This is clearly not at Banchero – Magic was expected to be among the worst in the league – although it does raise the baffling prospect at Banchero-Victor Wembanyama-Franz Wagner Stadium.
