I hope the Magic come back against the Cavs, but I really don't care if they don't. In the grand scheme of things, everything is about building around Banchero. What the front office does to put him in position to reach his potential and our team's is all that matters to me. We finally got one.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40019212/paolo-banchero-orlando-magic-nba-playoffs-2024
They loved how serious-minded Banchero came across, even as a 19-year-old entering the league. The Magic discovered the traits they sought in their next frontcourt superstar: poise, patience and an alpha doglike hunger to turn Orlando into a winner again. "He doesn't skip steps. He wants to be told the truth. As a trait, he's very hard on himself," says Jeff Weltman, the Magic's president of basketball operations. "He feels the weight of carrying his team and putting the team in a good position." And when things aren't going as planned? "Well, he's tough on himself," Weltman says.
"My first year here, any time a road team came, half the stadium would be cheering them on," says Jalen Suggs, the Magic's starting 2 guard. "Now, it's hard to get tickets when another team is here ... And a lot of credit goes to Paolo for that." Suggs says he relates to how calm Banchero is on the court. "He's always ready to kill," he says. "When we step between these lines, he's not too high, and not too low, but he's out there to win and compete." There's now an unmistakable attitude coming from the locker room in Orlando. "When you come down here you really gotta lock in, because we here to crack heads."
So many guys who play for Orlando use the word "love" to describe Banchero. They understand the jolt he has provided to a once-destitute team.
"We call him The Franchise because he is The Franchise. We're just the supporting cast," says Cole Anthony, one of the Magic's key guards. "Man, he had 23 a game for most of the year. And until Wendell got his rebounding up, he was leading our team in every statistical category except steals. That's what you call a franchise."
"It's not always playful -- there's plenty of times in the game I'm pissed, s---," Banchero says. He admits he doesn't want to put too much pressure on his teammates. "If I do that, then everyone feels that pressure I already feel. So I carry it naturally. I carry it lightly. So that they not feelin' that pressure. And, if it don't go the way it's supposed to? We still live to fight another day."
Perfection is unattainable for all of us, though it remains one of the roots of our Earthly struggles. To expect it from someone who lives their life under constant public scrutiny is part of the psychosis surrounding the American pursuit of athletic success. Perhaps that's why so many of Banchero's teammates love playing with him, why his coaches cannot do anything but offer such effusive praise. Because in their ranks is a young man willing to run full speed at uncomfortable for the sake of getting everyone else some shine.
"He's 21, he could be taking it all in and having fun with it. But, there's so much more he wants from this game," his teammate, Wendell Carter Jr., tells me. He has a certain style of maturity with him where he's not overbearing, but he's very locked in on what's important."
