Paolo Banchero has developed into an All-Star caliber player for the Orlando Magic. The 21-year-old has already prompted comparisons with LeBron James in his two-year NBA career, with fans and coaches alike noticing similarities in their games.
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Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley compared Banchero’s passing to that of James earlier this year. He said, “To put him in line with just one player is hard to do, because he has the passing ability of a LeBron, the scoring ability of a Melo, the basketball IQ he has is just something incredible.”
Yahoo Sports analyst Dan Devine has also compared Banchero’s physicality to that of the Lakers forward. There are certainly some similarities between the two NBA stars.
But how close is Banchero to LeBron?
Paolo Banchero is reminiscent of a young LeBron James
An underwhelming 3-point shot is one of the more glaring deficiencies in Banchero’s game. A young LeBron James also struggled with the 3-ball. Across his first 2 seasons, LeBron averaged 32.6% on 3.3 three-point attempts per game. On the other hand, Banchero has hit 32.1% of his shots on 4.2 attempts per game.
This is mostly because their games are centered around mid-range shooting and post-moves. Both Banchero and a young LeBron are all-around players. But LeBron’s passing was much more developed in his early years.
On more thing they have in common is that they have a lot of pressure on them from the get-go.
James was a superstar from his High School days and was expected to dominate the NBA from day 1. Banchero, on the other hand, doesn’t enjoy the hype that LeBron did before coming into the league.
But he is still expected to be the Magic’s franchise star. Both players shouldered the responsibility of rescuing their teams from obscurity after being drafted 1st overall in the NBA Draft. But despite these similarities, there are certainly a lot of differences between the two as well.
LeBron earned more individual accolades than Banchero
By his second season in the NBA, LeBron had ascended to superstardom. Although Banchero has progressed well, he is not yet in the superstar conversation. The then-Cavaliers star earned All-NBA Second-Team honors and was 6th in MVP voting by his Sophomore year, while the Magic forward has only earned his first All-Star nod so far.
While looking at their stats for year two, the differences start to be more prominent. LeBron averaged 27.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game during his second NBA season in 2004-05. Banchero is a bit behind with 22.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Furthermore, James averaged 2.2 steals to Banchero’s 0.9 steals per game, showing the difference in their defensive impact.
By his 3rd season, James had led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, averaging 30.8 points per game. In his 4th year, he made it to the NBA Finals, averaging 25.1 points per game.
In his first taste of playoff basketball this postseason, Banchero averaged around 27 points per game, almost five points per game more than his regular season numbers. Unfortunately, he was unable to lead the Magic past the first round.
Banchero is definitely on the right track in terms of living up to his LeBron James comparisons. But there are still things he needs to improve about his game to continue on that path.
Banchero needs to elevate his game
Although Banchero has all the right tools to be like LeBron James, he needs to elevate his game all around. Scoring and passing are key areas he needs to improve in. The Orlando Magic star needs to reduce his 3.1 turnovers per game from this past season and make better decisions with the ball.
Furthermore, he needs to become a more efficient scorer. Improving his 49.7% field goal percentage and 33.9% 3-point percentage from the 2023-24 season is crucial. After that, focusing on his perimeter defense and racking up more steals is another big factor.
Although it might take a few years and a lot of hard work, Banchero is more concerned about developing his game and leading the Magic to postseason glory in the future.
