Big surprise in the NBA draft. Most analysts and forecasts pointed to Jabari Smith (Auburn) being number one, but finally the Orlando Magic chose this Thursday to choose Paolo Banchero (Duke) in the first position of the 2022 NBA draft, a powerful forward from good statistics in a single year in college basketball. In second place, as expected, the Oklahoma City Thunder chose center Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) and Jabari Smith, who was selected by the Houston Rockets, fell to third place.
The 19-year-old, born in Seattle (USA) and with Italian roots, Banchero drew attention at the draw held at the Barclays Center in New York (USA) and which took place just a week after the Golden State Warriors will be proclaimed champions of the 2021-2022 season.
Banchero is a powerful and athletic forward, he lands in the NBA with the always prestigious Duke label and in his only season in college basketball he shone with an average of 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. "I don't know what to say. I can't believe what just happened, honestly (...). This is incredible. I can't speak," Banchero told the American broadcast as soon as he heard his name.
Wearing a striking purple suit, almost as if to pay homage to Prince, Banchero received a congratulatory message from legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, under whose command at Duke he played in the NCAA Final Four this year before the coach retired. Known as "Coach K," Krzyzewski praised Banchero as "the most versatile player in the draft." "You are a winner," he stated.
Banchero will join a Magic with a lot of young talent (Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, etc.) but last year they were the worst team in the Eastern Conference (22-60). Banchero is the fourth number one for the Magic in their history after Shaquille O'Neal (1992), Chris Webber (1993, but was traded to the Golden State Warriors) and Dwight Howard (2004).
In addition, his university, Duke, became the one with the most number ones in the draft by joining Banchero's name to those of Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011) and Zion Williamson (2019).
The ambitious process of rebuilding the Oklahoma City Thunder, a franchise that has spent years accumulating draft picks and prospects on the horizon with limited attention to the present, has added a new asset in Chet Holmgren, clearly the most unique and mysterious player in this draft. .
At 6-foot-1, with a wingspan of over 6-foot-1 and weighing less than 200 pounds, Holmgren combines intimidation (3.7 blocks and an average of 9.9 rebounds per game), talent on the inside and on the perimeter ( 14.1 points) and amazing agility despite his size.
For his part, Jabari Smith, who will join the Rockets, is considered the best shooter of this promotion of 2022 and this season he exhibited versatility and scoring appetite, achieving an average of 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game with a fabulous 42 % on success from the triple.
The "top 5" of the draft was completed by Keegan Murray (Iowa), who will play for the Sacramento Kings; and Jaden Ivey (Purdue), who will defend the colors of the Detroit Pistons.
Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers, sixth position), Shaedon Sharpe (Portland Trail Blazers, seventh), Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans, eighth), Jeremy Sochan (San Antonio Spurs, ninth) and Johnny Davis (Washington) also appeared in the top ten. Wizards, tenth).
The first move of the night was made by the New York Knicks, who chose Frenchman Ousmane Dieng in eleventh place but automatically traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City was thus left with three players among the top twelve positions in this draft: Chet Holmgren (two), Ousmane Dieng (eleven) and Jalen Williams (twelve).
Jalen Duren was drafted 13th by the Charlotte Hornets, but will go to the Detroit Pistons in a three-way move with the New York Knicks (Kemba Walker will also land in 'Motor City'); and the lottery portion of the draft was completed by the Cleveland Cavaliers choosing Ochai Agbaji with the 14th pick.
Already in the second round, three players trained in the Endesa League of Spain were chosen in the draft. The Senegalese Khalifa Diop (Gran Canaria) was chosen in 39th place by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Italian Matteo Spagnolo (Real Madrid) was chosen in the 50th position by the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Congolese Yannick Nzosa (Unicaja Málaga) was selected in the 54th place for the Washington Wizards.
The night left some anecdotes such as the presence in the draft of the filmmaker Spike Lee, passionate about basketball and the New York Knicks, and the French soccer player Kylian Mbappé.
