Duke star freshman Paolo Banchero is declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft, he announced Wednesday. The 6-foot-10 forward ranks as The Athletic’s No. 4 overall player in the class, projected to be selected at No. 3 overall by the Detroit Pistons in Sam Vecenie's latest mock draft.
Banchero, 19, won ACC Freshman of the Year honors and was a consensus second-team All-American selection. He averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the season.
(Photo: Lance King / Getty Images)
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What Banchero offers as an NBA prospect
Brendan Marks, Duke writer: Simply put, Banchero is a stud. He arrived at Duke as a top-three recruit in the nation, and now he leaves after one star-studded season as a likely top-three pick in the NBA Draft. Mission accomplished. At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Banchero has the offensive skillset of a wing in the body of a modern center. He's an absolute wrecking ball in transition, and he often overwhelmed college bigs with his size, strength, and explosiveness.
His passing, already one of his strengths coming into college, only improved over the course of the season, as did his decision-making. Duke didn't have a true point guard, per se, until Jeremy Roach's emergence in the NCAA Tournament … and that was totally fine, because Banchero was one of four capable ball handlers in the starting lineup. Then on defense, he thrives as a help-side shot-blocker, and can be a stout on-ball defender when he's fully engaged. At his best, when he's playing instinctively, Banchero has All-Star upside and could be an offensive fulcrum for multiple teams.
Where can he still improve?
Marks: There's nothing Banchero is truly bad at, although he can iron out a few elements of his game. His mid-range shot was incredibly efficient this season, but even so, he tends to fall in love with it at times and not go at opposing bigs as aggressively as he should. Think of it like this: Every time Banchero doesn't drive inside is a win defensively for the opponent.
His 3-point shot ironed itself out nicely in the NCAA Tournament, but for the season, he only made 33.8 percent of his 3s; Banchero's shot tends to get flat at times, and becoming more reliable from deep will fully unlock his offensive potential. With someone as good as he is, these things can be seen as nit-picking, but they'll ultimately determine just how high his ceiling is.
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What is Banchero's legacy at Duke?
Marks: In leading Duke to its Final Four run this season, as the centerpiece of Mike Krzyzewski's last team, Banchero locked in his legacy from a team perspective. Two banners are going up in Cameron Indoor this offseason, in large part because of his impact.
Individually, he's arguably one of the three best one-and-done players in Duke history. Obviously, Kyrie Irving and Zion Williamson are high on that list, as are Jayson Tatum, Jahlil Okafor, Marvin Bagley III and Brandon Ingram, but Banchero absolutely belongs in that conversation, too. What he eventually goes on to do in the NBA will impact the way his Duke career is seen, for better or worse, but years from now we'll still be talking about him as the top individual talent from a Final Four team in Coach K's last season. Pretty good way to be remembered, no?
