Paolo Banchero is the top among the NBA freshmen. But Italy will be further away for him

Paolo Banchero is rookie of the year (Rookie of the Year) in the NBA. It seems a given given that he was the very first player drafted in the 2022 draft. The vote confirms this theory, because Banchero received 98 of the 100 votes in the poll. More crushing than that would be difficult. Banchero, a “multidimensional” player of 208 centimeters, played an excellent championship, with an average of 20 points per game. He did everything: rebounds, assists, blocks, defense (after a slow start). And I add: there is never anything simple in life or in sport. To win this award, a rookie (freshman) must succeed in the most difficult thing for newcomers: overcome the “wall of fatigue” that hits the youngest in February. They are not used to playing so many games in such a short space of time. At the NCAA level, they play maybe 35 games in four months, an average of, like, 9 games a month. Then, stop. Rest until next year. In the NBA, they play maybe 12 games a month (even more than 12). After four months, they’ve already played around 45 races and there’s no stopping! They have to keep playing, travelling, eating in restaurants and sleeping in hotels. All energy less.

This leads to another problem: injuries. As every coach knows, a player is most vulnerable to injury in two stages: when he is physically tired and no longer has the usual coordination or reflexes or timing; when he returns from an injury and all his systems start from scratch. Well, Banchero has been able to overcome these obstacles. Injuries? Well, he’s missed 10 games this year. Perhaps the rest has helped his performance and allowed him to recharge his batteries. But he had to sacrifice what is called “game-pace”, an aid to avoid injuries.

How did Banchero manage to do all this? I propose my theory: maturity beyond his 20 years (19 when the season began). Why do I say this? Because he didn’t play for Banchero, but for the Orlando Magic, for the team, for his teammates. All normal? No. Indeed. Many players look after themselves first, the team after. They think like this: “I have to have my minutes, my touches, my shots, my points. I have to fine-tune my game.” All logical, but the player ends up being considered selfish, individualistic, solo or worse. Not so with Banchero.

So, I’m a fan of Paolo. If I’d been asked to vote for the award, there would have been 99 votes for him, not 98. Now the question that always arises when it comes to Banchero: will he choose to play for Italy or not? I’ve always been skeptical about the fact. Then, frankly speaking, this award, for me, takes him away from the blue shirt. Gianni Petrucci, president of Fip, and Gianmarco Pozzecco, coach of the national team, are right to court him! I love the idea of ​​”thinking big”: even if the project doesn’t go through, I approve of the idea of ​​trying 100 per 100. It wouldn’t be the first time that one of my predictions has blown up…