Magic Rookie Paolo Banchero Joins LeBron James in Record Book After Debut vs. Pistons
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is flying away from the midwest on the wrong side of a 113-109 defeat to the Detroit Pistons, and it spoiled No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero's debut.
Banchero scored 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the loss, becoming the first player to record a 25-5-5 stat line in a debut since LeBron James in 2003. Despite the accomplishment, Banchero wasn't satisfied.
"It means a lot," Banchero said. "Obviously would have liked to win, but I just wanted to play hard and play for the team."
Even though Banchero dazzled, the former Duke Blue Devil felt he could have played even better in the loss.
"I felt like I left a lot of points up on the board," Banchero said. "I missed three layups. I miss some shots I felt like I could have made... I wasn't disappointed with the way I played. I thought I played hard... and I thought we played hard. It was a positive showing for us, but obviously we would have liked to get the win."
It took a little while for Banchero to gain his footing, but once he did, he locked in and proved to be extremely valuable for the Magic.
"As he got comfortable, the game slowed down for him a little bit," coach Jamahl Mosley said. "He registered how they were playing him. So his ability to make plays down the stretch was huge."
Banchero made a very strong opening argument for his Rookie of the Year case, for which he is the favorite, but it's clear that even though that may be a goal for the No. 1 overall pick, he has bigger fish to fry.
Banchero and the Magic are back in action Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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