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Paolo Banchero lived up to the hype on his NBA debut for the Orlando Magic on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons. Banchero looked like a star with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the 113-109 loss. He's the third No. 1 overall pick in NBA history to have a 25-5-5 game in his debut.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1969, while LeBron James had 25 points, six rebounds and nine assists in 2003. In the postgame interview, Banchero thanked his teammates for giving him good looks throughout the game. His 27 points were also the most points by a first overall pick since Allen Iverson.
"It's crazy," Banchero said. "I felt like I left a lot of points on the board. Credit to my teammates for finding me. It's always nice to see the ball get in that early, get easy buckets around the rim.
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"That's how I try to play, inside out. Try to get easy stuff around the basket and expand out and do more stuff throughout the game."
In addition to joining LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Allen Iverson in the record books, Paolo Banchero also broke a franchise record. Banchero's 27 points is the most points scored by an Orlando Magic rookie on debut.
Some of the greatest players in Magic history didn't even reach 20 points on their NBA debuts. Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard and Penny Hardaway all had 12 points in their first NBA game.
"It means a lot, I guess," Banchero said after the game. "Obviously, would have liked to win. But I just wanted to play hard, play for the team, and that happened, so it's a blessing."
Rookies highlight Detroit Pistons' win over the Orlando Magic
Paolo Banchero is not the only rookie to show up in the Detroit Pistons' win over the Orlando Magic. The Pistons' Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren had great debuts for their team. Ivey finished the game with 19 points, three rebounds and four assists, while Duren had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
The two rookies provided a spark for the Pistons after going down early in the game. Bojan Bogdanovic had 24 points and five rebounds, but it was Cade Cunningham who made things possible for Detroit. Last year's No. 1 overall pick scored 18 points and dished out 10 assists.
Meanwhile, Orlando's second rookie Caleb Houstan went scoreless in 22 minutes. A couple of second-year players picked up the slack for the Magic. Jalen Suggs had 21 points and three assists, while Franz Wagner added 20 points, four rebounds and five assists.
But it was Banchero who stole the show despite the loss. Pistons coach Dwane Casey had nothing but praise for the 19-year-old forward.
"He's going to be a problem in our league for a long time," Casey said.
The Orlando Magic will take on the Atlanta Hawks on Friday before returning to Florida for their home opener on Saturday. The Detroit Pistons, on the other hand, will start their three-game road trip on Friday against the New York Knicks.
