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Orlando picks Banchero #1 pick in the NBA draft
Dusseldorf While most Europeans are asleep, the North American professional leagues are buzzing. What Happened That Night in American Football, Basketball, and Ice Hockey.
Basketball: Orlando picks Banchero as No. 1 pick in NBA draft
The Orlando Magic around the German basketball professional Franz Wagner surprisingly drew Paolo Banchero as the first pick in the 76th draft of the NBA. The American power forward with Italian roots played in college for Duke University and impressed there last season with an average of 17.2 points per game.
“I really don’t know what to say,” said the 19-year-old at the Barclays Center in New York, “I can’t believe what just happened.”
Banchero was considered more of an underdog for the first pick, with Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith trading the highest in the run-up. Center Holmgren grabbed the Oklahoma City Thunder as number two, while Forward Smith was signed by the Houston Rockets as number three. Pole Jeremy Sochan was the first European to be drawn by the San Antonio Spurs in ninth place.
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