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The Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero is averaging his lowest point-per-game total since his rookie year.
Back in 2022, the Orlando Magic won the NBA draft lottery and secured Duke phenom Paolo Banchero to be the centerpiece of their rebuild. Though the versatile forward has shown a lot of promise to start his career, one former champion is starting to wonder if he has what it takes to be “the guy” for the franchise long-term.
Heading into this season, the Magic were a team a lot of fans and analysts had their eyes on. They made a big splash over the summer, giving up a massive haul to acquire Desmond Bane in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. With his elite-level outside shooting, many felt Orlando finally had a strong complementary piece to pair with the dynamic forward duo of Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Despite the emergence of young players like Anthony Black, the Magic haven’t lived up to the expectations set for them back in October. As the final stretch of the regular season gets ready to begin, Orlando finds itself in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 28-25 record.
While on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on February 18, Kendrick Perkins was asked his thoughts on the Magic being the league’s biggest let-down this season. He took things a step further, dubbing Banchero one of the most disappointing players in 2026.
“I would go a litter further and say Paolo Banchero has been the biggest disappointment player-wise,” Perkins said. “When we came into the season, we had high expectations for this young man. His ceiling, we were talking about being one of the top five young players under 25. He has taken three or four steps backwards. I’m starting to question whether he is their franchise guy moving forward.”
“I will go a little further and say Paolo Banchero has been the biggest disappointment player-wise.” 👀
@KendrickPerkins answers the question on if the Magic have been the biggest disappointment this NBA season 🏀
The Orlando Magic Need Paolo Banchero to Return to Form Following Franz Wagner Update
Perkins wasn’t shy about his feelings towards Banchero, and the numbers back him up. Through his first 43 games this season, his production has trended in the wrong direction.
Banchero is still filling the stat sheet, averaging 21.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 4.8 APG. However, his scoring total is his lowest since his rookie season and nearly four points below his average in 2025. His efficiency has remained on par with his career, shooting roughly 45% from the field. That said, his volume of attempts has dipped to 15.6 a night (tying his career low).
The Magic having more offensive weapons has likely played a part in this, but Banchero still needs to assert himself on that side of the floor. This will be even more important moving forward, following Shams Charania’s latest reporting that Wagner will remain sidelined indefinitely coming out of the All-Star break.
If Orlando wants any shot at sneaking into the postseason this year, they’ll need Banchero to lead the charge and return to his All-Star caliber form.
Paolo Banchero Weighs In on Franz Wagner Remaining Out
Following practice on Wednesday, Banchero was asked his thoughts on the latest news regarding his running mate. He noted that Wagner is a key contributor for the Magic, but wants to see him get right physically before he rejoins them on the floor.
“He’s one of our key pieces of our team and we need him out there,” Banchero told reporters. “But at the same time, we don’t want him coming back before he’s ready … Just want him to take his time no matter how long that is and get all the way healthy because we don’t want him out there if he’s not feeling like himself.”
Banchero and the Magic will attempt to build positive momentum coming out of the break on Thursday when they face off against the Sacramento Kings.
Kevin McCormick Kevin McCormick is a veteran sports writer covering the NBA for Heavy.com. After writing for Heavy briefly in 2022, he’s returned to the publication in 2026. McCormick brings with him over seven years of experience writing about the NBA in a newsroom and served as a credentialed reporter of the Philadelphia 76ers for 97.3 ESPN, ClutchPoints, and On SI. More about Kevin McCormick
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