Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero Reveals Russell Westbrook Advice
Paolo Banchero says that he knew there was going to be a wall in his rookie year, but nobody warned him that year two would be just as hard.
USA Today Sports
In a recent episode of The Old Man and the Three with JJ Redick, the Orlando Magic star talked about some advice that he received from former MVP Russell Westbrook about how to approach his second year in the league.
"He told me year two was the hardest year," Banchero said. "He said that I had expectations now, and everyone is expecting me to perform, and to improve and be better... And he said his routine was the same every day... And so that was my biggest thing. Making sure that game in and game out that all of the other stuff, whether it's stretching, eating sleep, all of that is taken care of so that in the game I can just focus on the game."
His mentality seems to be working, as he was just named to his first All-Star Game on Thursday, which could be the first of many. If Banchero continues to improve like he has, then we could be looking at a future All-Star starter.
Banchero and the rest of the Magic will be back in action tonight against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET in the Target Center.
