Paolo Banchero's rookie season could be one of the greats ever watched in the last 10 years or so. With only 21 games played, he already has clinched or tied up many NBA records. Also, his performance on the court resembles to many when LeBron James or Kevin Durant made their debut season.
Despite his most recent competitor Chet Holgrem isn't playing this current season, there are other rookies in the NBA who are competing against him for the Rookie of Year award. However, still for many analysts, the 20-year-old is leading the race for that individual award.
As a player in a team who's goal isn't making it to the NBA Playoffs, Banchero has been leading their score sheet for quite a while already. However, the Orlando Magic know how important his performances are to the project of building up a championship-contender team.
Paolo Banchero ties up Michael Jordan's record as a rookie
According to ESPN Stats & Info, "Paolo Banchero has 15 games with 20 points this season. The last two players to score 20+ points in 15 of their first 20 games of a career were, Zion Williamson in the 2019-20, and Michael Jordan in the 1984-85 season.
As the games passed, Banchero is getting more comfortable on the court. In fact, in the last Magic win over the Toronto Raptors, Banchero pulled up 20 points with 12 rebounds. To be His 16th game with at least 20 points in the back-to-back game.
Despite Banchero still has a long way to run, the player with most 20+ points games in his rookie season remains untoched as Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have registered 73 games with those numbers in their respective rookie seasons.
