Paul Banchero is putting together really big numbers, especially when compared to those of LeBron James in his rookie year with the Cleveland Cavaliers now 20 years ago.
The Italian-American boy is distinguishing himself in an important way for his skills as a scorer, so much so that he hardly goes under 20 points, for example tonight he put up 23, a double-double topped also by 13 rebounds in the seventh win picked up by Orlando in the last eight games.
To give you an idea of the level, these were King James’ numbers in his first NBA season: 20.9 points per contest, 5.5 rebounds per shoelace, shooting 42 percent from the field, 29 from three and 75 at the free.
Paolino is now at 21.8 PPP, 6.6 RPP, shooting 45% from the field, 31 from three and 76 at the free.
This really shows us the impact the guy with an Italian passport is having on the NBA. We are talking about numbers compared to those of one of the best rookies ever. It won’t be easy to maintain them throughout the season but the truth is that it won’t even be hard to pull it off because Banchero is on the rise and could beat LeBron James. Let’s see if he really succeeds in this feat!
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