Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was reportedly under “serious consideration” to play for the national team in the Paris Olympics but was ultimately left out of the roster, despite playing for them during last year’s FIBA World Cup.
When he played for Team USA for the first time in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Paolo Banchero averaged 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 58 percent from the field.
Instead, he is expected to have a huge role for the national team by the time the Los Angeles Games roll around in 2028, as Joe Vardon from The Athletic noted that Team USA managing director Grant Hill envisions the Orlando Magic star to be an integral cog for the future.
“Paolo Banchero, another member of USA’s last World Cup team, was under serious consideration for the Paris Olympics and is a player Hill wants to feature in Olympiads to come,” Vardon wrote in his column on Monday.
It’s easy to see why Grant Hill has high hopes for the Orlando Magic youngster. Paolo Banchero will be 25 in July of 2028, and by that time, he will have added more accolades to his resume after winning the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year award and earning his first NBA All-Star citation last season.
Orlando Magic have a solid core to work with
The Orlando Magic made it back to the playoffs last season and pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games, a marked improvement from their 13th-place finish in 2022-23.
Besides Paolo Banchero, the Orlando Magic have Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Moritz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, Goga Bitadze, and Wendell Carter Jr., and they also added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cory Joseph via free agency.
Banchero is coming off a robust 2023-24 campaign, averaging 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 45.5 percent shooting in 80 regular season games.
