Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been named NBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced on Tuesday (April 25).
Banchero secured 98 of the 100 first-place votes to take home the award, securing it over Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Jazz center Walker Kessler. He becomes the third Magic player to win it, joining Shaquille O’Neal in 1993 and Mike Miller in 2001.
The 2022-23 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year is… Paolo Banchero!#KiaROY | #NBAAwards | @Kia pic.twitter.com/zdlmQS6682
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2023
The Magic selected Banchero first overall in the 2022 NBA Draft and he proceeded to lead all rookies and his team in scoring with 20.0 points per game, also adding 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He was only the sixth rookie in the past 50 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and three assists per game with a minimum of 50 games played.
Banchero was the recipient of four consecutive Rookie of the Month awards from December to March, the second Magic player to win the award four straight times (O’Neal). He scored 20-plus points 40 times and 30-plus points six times this season, the most by any rookie in the league and the second-most by a Magic rookie in franchise history (also O’Neal).
The 20-year-old Banchero also becomes the fourth former Duke player to win the award, joining Kyrie Irving (2011), Elton Brand (1999) and Grant Hill (1994). He’s the first winner of the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, which honors the NBA legend as a part of the league-wide rebrand of the regular season awards.
Paolo Banchero's 2022-23 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year mixtape 📹#KiaROY | #NBAAwards | @Kia pic.twitter.com/PTmXHOu5yN
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2023
Banchero becomes the sixth end-of-season award winner thus far, joining Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., Clutch Player of the Year De’Aaron Fox, Coach of the Year Mike Brown, Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and Most Improvied Player Lauri Markkanen. The league will hand out the rest of their awards, including Most Valuable Player, later this postseason.
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