Paolo Banchero shares crafting his game after LeBron James & Carmelo Anthony: “I’ve watched countless hours of tape”
LeBron James has been in the NBA for over two decades now. It’s not surprising to hear that the veteran players say James was their favorite player growing up.
Recently, Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero was asked if his playing style was similar to Carmelo Anthony's. Banchero, who has already spoken of LeBron’s influence on his game, said that Melo also greatly influenced him growing up.
“I’d be lying if I said Carmelo didn’t have a huge influence on my game growing up, along with LeBron," Banchero said via Max Van Auken. "I’ve watched, countless, countless hours of tape. I feel like you gotta take different parts of those guys’ games & add it with your own flair, your own style of play… Shoutout Melo. He’s reached out & helped me a lot the past year.”
This is not the first time the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year has spoken about James and Carmelo's influence on his game. He was on “The Crew Has It” podcast and talked about his favorite players growing up.
LeBron James had high praise for rookie Paolo Banchero in his rookie season
In December 2022, Paolo Banchero faced his childhood idol LeBron James for the first time in an Orlando Magic vs Los Angeles Lakers game.
Banchero, a rookie then, didn’t have a good game against LeBron and the Lakers. He scored 4 points while shooting only 16.7% from the field. He mostly dealt with the foul trouble throughout the game.
However, he drew heavy praise from the Lakers star. LeBron compared the 2022 No. 1 draft pick to legendary picks that the Magic have had before, like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.
"He's been exceptional," James said. "Playing great ball, [he's] been a three-level scorer so far in this league. He's only going to get better and better. Every game he'll get better and better. All these experiences is just really good for him."
"They got a good one," James added. "Great kid too. They've got a great one in Orlando. They've had some really really good picks in their drafts. They got Shaq, they got Dwight, now you see him. They've done really well."