The race for ROY (Rookie Of The Year) in the National Basketball Association always attracts a lot of attention from fans of quality basketball. NBA teams got a lot of promising young players in the last draft, but the player who was selected at number one, Paolo Bankero, stands apart in this list. The Duke power forward is considered by the bookies as the top contender for the Rookie of the Year award in the absence of Chet Holmgren, who suffered a preseason injury and will miss this season.
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Brief information
19-year-old Banquero is the future of the Florida team. He plays as a power forward. The player weighs 113 kg, the same as LeBron James, but with a height of 208 cm (he is 3-4 cm taller than him). These dimensions allow you to close three positions in defense, and in attack – to play in contact, without fear of being covered by larger defenders. Already in the first game of this season, he proved that the Magic are doing well and they sacrificed the first pick in the draft for a reason.
Recall that in the 2021-2022 season, Paolo Bankero represented the Duke team in the NCAA. The Italian-American averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes on the court. The implementation of shots from the game was 47.8%.
Early career in the NBA
Paolo, the Orlando Magic’s No. 1 pick, became the seventh player in NBA history to score 20 or more points in the first five games of his pro career. Less than a month later, Banquero had already completely closed the doors to the Rookie of the Year race. Players like D. Williamson, G. Hill, D. Wilkins, O. Robertson, A. Hayes, and W. Chamberlain were able to start their NBA careers the same way. Banquero joined a truly elite group of players, five of whom were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Banquero also became the youngest player in this group. Chamberlain had the longest streak of the three, having played 56 consecutive games with at least 20 points.
The 19-year-old already looks like an All-Star, averaging 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He also recorded three double-doubles, including 33 points and 16 rebounds in a November 5 loss to the Sacramento Kings. This is not the only achievement of this young player, he also became the second player after D. Wilkins, who managed to collect at least 120 points, 35 rebounds and 15 assists in his first five games. These numbers show that Banquero could be something special for the Magic and the entire NBA in the future.
Coefficient and predictions
Bookmakers estimate the probability that the first pick of the draft will be able to receive an ROY odds award of 1.12. Many analysts believe that Paolo Banquero does not even need to continue to play as well as at the start of the season. As long as he stays healthy, he will be Rookie of the Year 2022-23. As you can see, the probability of such an event is incredibly high, and all other competitors are far behind.
Other contenders for Rookie of the Year include:
- Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana) – coefficient 7.80.
- Keegan Murray (Sacramento) – coefficient 23.00.
- Jayden Ivey (Detroit) – coefficient 29.00.
- Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston) – odds 67.00.
