According to the former first-overall pick, Paolo Banchero believes the Orlando Magic are “right there” with the “elite teams” of the Eastern Conference.
During a recent appearance on ESPN’s First Take show, Banchero said the Magic keeps getting better even after everyone thought it was a fluke during their early-on success.
“We feel like we’re right there,” he said. “We’re right there with all those (elite teams in the East). I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-two, top-three seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the fifth seed and had a chance to really grab the two seed at the end of the season.”
He continued by stating that Orlando has a chance to be the top team in the East.
“We were right there last year. We got better this year. I got better; all of us got better. We got some new pieces that are going to help a lot. We’re trying to make some noise. We should easily be a top-four, top-three team, and have a chance to win the East.”
With him saying all of this, the 21-year-old says that since the Magic took a chance on him, he feels a responsibility to take them to the highest levels. The highest levels most likely mean the NBA Finals.
“Orlando took a chance on me when they drafted me, and I am forever grateful for that,” said Banchero while appearing on ESPN’s First Take. “I give them my love and respect for that because nobody knew that I was going to go number one. I didn’t know I was going to go number one. So, they put the trust in me to take that chance and take me number one. After that, I felt like it was my job to help them reach heights that haven’t been reached in a long time … We’re trying to take (a huge) jump next year and keep taking it one level at a time. But we don’t want to stop any time soon. We want to keep going and eventually win a championship.”
Orlando finished 47-35 last season, landing fifth in the East. Don’t forget that this team went to round one of the postseason against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They lost in seven.
