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FS1 Host Argues Paolo Banchero Haș Proven More than One Particular NBA Champion

Stephen Douglas

Nick Wright argues Paolo Banche has proven more than Chet Holmgren.
Nick Wright argues Paolo Banche has proven more than Chet Holmgren. / FS1 / @WeltGawd

Nick Wright has done it again. The FS1 personality came up with a tremendous sports talk show debate topic on Wednesday's edition of First Things First. While discussing the huge extension signed by Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren, Wright suggested that Paolo Banchero had actually proven more than Holmgren.

It's your classic apples-to-oranges comparison, yet these two were taken No. 1 and No. 2 in the 2022 NBA draft and both just signed massive contract extensions, so it's actually perfect. The only real problem with Wright's argument is that Holmgren won a championship weeks ago, a point which co-host Kevin Wildes quickly pointed out, but Wright simply brushed past it by declaring Holmgren couldn't do what Banchero does.

"I don't think Chet in Orlando would have done what Paolo did," said Wright. "I don't think Chet is a guy who would be, at this point in his career, the best player on a playoff team. And Paolo was."

Keep in mind the argument here is that Holmgren, who just averaged 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks on a title run, could not be the best player on an Eastern Conference playoff team.

But Banchero is a certified All-Star and a No.1 pick who has lived up to the billing. And he's done it all on his own. Even if the thing he's done on his own is two first-round exits.

There's just no way to prove how Chet would look as the No. 1 option on a team since he was drafted into the most high-level role player spot available in the league and it looks like he'll stay there for at least another half-decade.

So in this case you can't prove Nick Wright wrong. You can only wait to see how Banchero does now that he has a little more help in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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