Magic rookie Paolo Banchero is already one of the NBA’s most elite basketball players. For the Magic, he’s averaging 20.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 43.9% shooting and has been a borderline All-Star all season long.
According to Paolo, he’s had a warm welcome to the NBA and feels at home in this league despite having so little experience. But he’s also had some help along the way, most notably from his fellow Duke brothers.
In a recent chat with Basketball News, the Magic star revealed which players have been most supportive during his NBA journey so far, and they all follow a very noticeable trend.
“Everyone hears ‘The Brotherhood’ being used and probably thinks it’s corny, but it’s a real thing,” Banchero said. “Jayson Tatum isn’t the only one [who’s helped me]. I’ve talked to Zion [Williamson] plenty of times. I’ve talked to Grant Hill a lot and he’s helped me a lot. A lot of guys would come back [to Duke] like Jahlil Okafor came back, R.J. Barrett came back. All of those guys, they’re just around and they try to get back any time that they can. And if they were in the same city that we were playing in back in college, we’d have guys coming to the games. It’s just an elevator where they send it back down and help the next guys out. I was definitely helped by that, talking to those guys in college and hearing from those guys. It helps you a lot.”
The Blue Devil family is one that never breaks, and it’s good to see former Duke students staying connected with each other. No doubt, Paolo is just the latest in what will be a long line of future basketball stars from Duke University.
Paolo Details His Experience At National’s Top Basketball Program
While Paolo is likely headed for a long and successful NBA career, one could point to his experience at Duke as the perfect stepping block for his transition to the league.
According to Paolo, attending the school was almost like being a zoo animal.
“It was almost like they treat you like a zoo animal… and I love Duke. In class you’d see them over there whispering about you, staring at you. I done caught people trying to record me… classmates would start bringing their families, brothers and sisters, moms and dad to my dorm… It was a good experience, though.”
It’s only a matter of time before the next great Duke athlete takes over the NBA, but Paolo is doing just fine so far.
Whether you credit it to good luck, good advice, or just good talent, Banchero has been set up for success at the highest level, and it’s awesome to see the fruits of his labor finally come to fruition.
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