Duke power forward Paolo Banchero has opted to declare the 2022 NBA draft. Banchero confirmed his decision in a video posted to his Twitter account.
Banchero’s decision comes as no surprise, as he has long been viewed as one of the top prospects in the 2022 draft class and a legitimate candidate to be the first player selected on June 23. Currently, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz list the Blue Devils star as the No. 2 player on their big board, just behind Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and ahead of Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr.
A consensus second-team All-American as a freshman in 2021/22, Banchero averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.2 APG and posted a .478/.338/.729 shooting line in 39 games (33.0 MPG). He earned a spot on the All-ACC first team and was the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
According to Schmitz, Banchero is the most polished of the top three prospects in this year’s draft and boasts an impressive, well-rounded offensive game, exhibiting “legitimate guard skills” and the ability to be a ball-handler in the pick and roll. However, he doesn’t have the same defensive upside as Holmgren or Smith.
Banchero is the second Duke underclassman to declare for this year’s draft, joining sophomore center Mark Williams.
I hope Rockets take Chet Holmgren in this draft. Take a look at Mark Williams and Smith Jr while Chet Holmgren being their main “focus”.
I’d be very surprised if Banchero goes in the top 2. Might not be the best thing for him either. Somewhere in the #3-#8 range, depending on the team.
Banchero can pick how he gets a score. But he might be horrible on defense, so he is a risk. He may not like contact or effort… So how will the NBA adjustment go?
Hard to figure the effect of playing for Coach K in his announced last year, being Banchero’s only year… K seemed different, relaxed… Maybe that was poison to a large ex-quarterback.
My pick for the best career out of this draft.
This guy’s definitely not going to the Knicks! They should have been tanking this year instead of clamoring to prove last year was not a fluke. What a terrible franchise.
Knicks have been tanking since 1999
The Knicks aren’t as bad as you think. Toppin is beginning to emerge and more importantly, Quickley is on the verge of having a breakout season as his Kentucky teammate, Maxey.
Only you and the NYK Front Office are putting stock in late season garbage time. Quickley is nowhere near Maxey’s rising star status.
When I judge draft prospects, this is the algorithm I use:
FT% 80+
3ptA/100POS 8.0+
Steal Rate 2.0+
DRB% 10.0+ for wings 20.0+ for Bigs
Once a player checks these boxes, then look at the medicals, character, etc
Now you know why I take Jhabari Smith over all the other bigs in the draft.