Paolo Banchero flexes stats after joining elite company with Michael Jordan & LeBron James
After a stellar rookie campaign, Paolo Banchero continues to show the league and its fans that he is one of the biggest up-and-coming stars. This season, the 21-year-old forward is averaging 22.7 points per game, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Even more impressive is that only three other players in league history average 22/5/5 or better at the age of 21. Those three are Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Banchero certainly recognizes the elite company he is in and has taken the time to flex his stats on X (formerly Twitter).
Banchero quoted the tweet by StatMuse which pointed out his impressive stats. He also added some words that could be interpreted as him putting everybody on notice of what he can do.
"Catch up now or find out later," Banchero said in his tweet.
For reference, Michael Jordan entered the league when he was 21. He averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists at that age. LeBron James averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists at 21. Luka Doncic averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists when he was 21.
After a stellar year in the league, where he won the Rookie of the Year award, Paolo Banchero continues establishing himself as a star. This season, he made his first All-Star team and is a major proponent of the Orlando Magic potentially being on the way to a major franchise turnaround.
For context, the Magic ended last season with a 34-48 record. This season, they have already surpassed that, sitting at 39-28 and are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a chance to make their first playoff appearance since 2020.
Also read: "Better than Tatum.": NBA fans erupt as Paolo Banchero averages 34 points in January, garnering comparisons to Celtics' superstar
Paolo Banchero has received plenty of praise from NBA veterans
For him to be in elite company with LeBron James is truly a remarkable feat for Paolo Banchero. After all, he has been quoted before as saying that he has modeled part of his game after the LA Lakers superstar.
However, even before achieving stats comparable to LeBron's, the Orlando Magic star already received a stamp of approval from 'King James.' During his rookie year, LeBron compared Banchero to Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard, who were also both No. 1 picks by the Orlando Magic.
"They got a good one," James said in 2022 (h/t Sports Illustrated). "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."
Aside from LeBron, his former Miami Heat teammate Mike Miller also heaped praise on Banchero. Despite being in the league for a short time, Miller already claimed that Banchero could be a future hall-of-famer.
While this is a prediction that can be considered as early, the talent is certainly there for Paolo Banchero to make it happen.