A former Duke Blue Devil and one-time NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero recently reflected on his path to Duke and the NBA, comparing his journey with other No. 1 overall picks from the university like Cooper Flagg and Zion Williamson.
“Both of them guys (Zion and Flagg) is great players, and all the hype they get is very warranted. I think my situation was a lot different. I came up during COVID," said Banchero. "I didn’t get a senior year of high school, really. My whole senior year of high school was online. High school was shut down. No one from my class really got that hype.”
Following a shortened high school season, Banchero played 39 games for the Blue Devils during his freshman season (2021-22), averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists,
1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks. While these numbers weren't quite the same as those of Williamson or Flagg, Banchero heard his name first at the 2022 NBA Draft, joining the Orlando Magic.
In his first four NBA seasons, Banchero holds career averages of 22.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks. Of the three, Williamson was the only one who didn't take home Rookie of the Year Award honors, losing out to Murray State alum Ja Morant.
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This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Former Duke No. 1 overall pick reflects on journey from college to NBA
