Duke’s Paolo Banchero entered his freshman season with lofty expectations, seen to be in a dual with Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren for the No. 1 overall pick.
As the season went on, other players — most notably, Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr. — also entered the conversation, and now, it looks like all signs point to Smith hearing his name called first by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
But that’s not to say Banchero disappointed by any means in his lone college basketball season. The star freshman averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game, helping lead Duke to the Final Four.
Even if he doesn’t go No. 1, Banchero should be among the first four names selected on draft night. What exactly would the Duke one-and-done forward bring to the NBA?
Here is a complete scouting report with a few examples showcasing what makes Banchero such a special prospect.
Paolo Banchero scouting report: Strengths
What makes Banchero so special is his dual ability to threaten defenses as a shot creator and playmaker. At 6-foot-10, 250 pounds, Banchero is a walking mismatch because he’s too quick and fluid for bigs, yet too strong and physical for guards.
He spends a lot of time out on the perimeter to hunt mismatches and he specifically did a great job of using all of his tools as a scorer and passer in Duke’s NCAA tournament game against Michigan State. While many point to the first half of Duke’s early season matchup with Gonzaga as the quintessential Banchero highlight, the tournament game against the Spartans highlighted Banchero’s growth not yet evident in that earlier high profile matchup.
Against Michigan State, there were three plays in particular that stuck out to me as high-level, NBA-caliber moves and reads that led to buckets.
One-on-one scoring ability
It started with this play early in the first half, where Banchero recognized he had space to work with and could take a slower defender off the dribble to get to an open spot and knock down a shot.
First off, Banchero is a righty. Even though that little lefty hesitation wasn’t exactly And-1 mixtape worthy, it’s impressive he has the ball-handling control to get into half-spin move out of the post like that with his off-hand. He finishes the play off with some balanced footwork and a ridiculously skilled fadeaway that you don’t typically see from 19-year-old bigs.
Passing and playmaking
Later in the first half, Banchero found himself in a similar situation but this time, he was attacking a slower defender who closed out on him too hard on the 3-point line.
When he puts the ball on the floor to drive, he easily could have forced up a midrange jumper or tried to bulldoze his way to the rim. Instead, when Michigan State’s defense collapsed, he delivered a slick no-look dime (in traffic!) to Mark Williams for a much easier basket.
That’s a drop in the bucket for his decision-making, processing the game in real-time to make the right read and know when to score for yourself or set up others. It was also a sign of growth for Banchero who didn’t make those reads early in the season.
For Banchero to truly reach his full potential, these are the types of reads he’ll be expected to make on a regular basis with the ball in his hands. Any team drafting Banchero will ultimately expect this level of consistent playmaking from him.
Driving and finishing inside
And on that topic, when Duke’s season was on the line and it desperately needed a bucket to end a Michigan State 9-0 run, Banchero called his own number to stop the bleeding.
Note that this time, he spun over his other shoulder compared to the post-spin fadeaway in the first half, which is impressive in its own right.
But it’s also worth mentioning that even though Duke’s best player was attacking the basket, not one Michigan State player helped off of their man, knowing Banchero can now beat you as a passer too. (Michigan State’s on-ball defender even threw his hands up after the bucket, presumably wondering “what else could I have done?” or “where the heck was the help?”).
It’s three separate plays like those that make it very easy to see why Banchero would be worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. There just simply aren’t many 6-foot-10, 250-pound shot-creating playmakers out there, never mind at 19 years old.
Paolo Banchero scouting report: Weaknesses
The biggest perceived weakness for Banchero is that he doesn’t always play with a ton of intensity on the defensive end. He had moments where he would fall asleep on that side of the ball and miss a rotation or fail to help, but there were also times when he was engaged with active hands on steals and help-side blocks.
He has all the tools to be an impactful and versatile defender with good agility at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot wingspan, it will just come down to his attitude and desire to stay engaged on that end.
Offensively, Banchero’s consistency as a shooter could determine his ceiling as a scorer at the next level. He shot 33.8 percent from 3 during his freshman season, but how will his jumper adjust to the NBA 3-point line? He has a smooth shooting stroke, so there is little reason to believe it won’t translate.
Banchero handled the ball often at Duke, but he’ll have to tighten up his handle to maintain that same workload and playstyle in the NBA. Getting quicker with the ball in his hands will only make him more dynamic as a scorer and playmaker at the next level.
Paolo Banchero player comparison
Going into his freshman season, I compared Banchero to Hawks forward John Collins because of his fluid athleticism and physicality.
After watching his developed playmaking and ability to create his own shot, I started to see shades of what we saw from Knicks forward Julius Randle during his All-Star season in 2020-21.
If you told any fan of a team that drafts Banchero that he’ll someday average 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while also shooting over 40% from the 3-point line, they’d take it in a heartbeat. Well, that’s exactly what Randle did in 2020-21 while carrying the Knicks to the playoffs.
Banchero’s production projects at an All-NBA level. The question becomes whether or not he has the motor and consistency to deliver.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here