{"id":305366,"date":"2025-09-26T17:11:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T17:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/305366\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T17:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T17:11:15","slug":"magics-desmond-bane-expects-monster-2025-26-season-from-paolo-banchero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/305366\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic\u2019s Desmond Bane expects \u2018monster\u2019 2025-26 season from Paolo Banchero"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post Magic\u2019s Desmond Bane expects \u2018monster\u2019 2025-26 season from Paolo Banchero<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the Orlando Magic<\/a> prepare to open the 2025-26 NBA season, newly acquired guard Desmond Bane believes teammate Paolo Banchero<\/a> is on the verge of taking another leap forward.<\/p>\n

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Bane, who joined Orlando in a blockbuster trade from the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> earlier this summer, shared his expectations for Banchero on The Kevin O\u2019Connor Show. With less than a month before the Magic host the Miami Heat in their season opener on Oct. 22 at the KIA Center, Bane pointed to Banchero\u2019s mindset and hunger<\/a> entering his fourth NBA campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just had a team mini-camp in Vegas, he\u2019s gonna be a monster,\u201d Bane said. \u201cAnd the thing that I like about him a lot is he\u2019s very selfless, like he just wants to win. I expect a big season out of him and I think he expects a big season out of himself. More than anything, I just feel the hunger that he has coming into this season so I\u2019m super excited to get around him and happy to complement his skillset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Banchero has emerged as the face of the franchise. He won Rookie of the Year in 2023, earned his first All-Star appearance in 2024, and has guided Orlando to consecutive postseason appearances. The Magic\u2019s 47-win campaign in 2023-24 marked the team\u2019s best regular-season finish since the Dwight Howard era.<\/p>\n

Banchero built on that momentum last season despite being limited to 46 games due to a torn oblique. He averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 45.2% from the field and 32% from three across 34.4 minutes per contest.<\/p>\n

Desmond Bane predicts big year for Paolo Banchero as Magic aim to contend\"\u00a9<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

In the playoffs, Banchero elevated his performance further. During Orlando\u2019s first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, he averaged 29.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc across five games. Despite the loss, his production underscored his ability to rise to postseason competition.<\/p>\n

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Bane, who has averaged 16.9 points and 40 percent shooting from three over his career, is expected to play a critical role in complementing Banchero and Franz Wagner as the Magic\u2019s offense continues to develop. His addition, alongside veteran guard Tyus Jones<\/a>, adds more scoring depth and experience to a roster that has leaned heavily on its young core.<\/p>\n

During the same appearance, Bane also praised the Magic\u2019s defensive foundation and roster balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they have a unique roster. The size that they have on this roster is unreal. I mean you look at Jalen Suggs, a big guard, Anthony Black\u2019s a bigger guard, and then next to them you have 6\u201910 wings and forwards so it\u2019s no secret to why they were such a good defensive team. I\u2019m super excited, the guys are really good guys \u2013 seems like we have a chance to do something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Bane in the fold and Banchero entering his prime years, Orlando will look to extend its postseason streak and contend deeper in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

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Related: What Desmond Bane regrets about Magic\u2019s Europe trip<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Exclusive: Jase Richardson credits Rookie Transition Program, Court of Leaders for NBA preparation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The post Magic\u2019s Desmond Bane expects \u2018monster\u2019 2025-26 season from Paolo Banchero appeared first on ClutchPoints. As the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3779],"tags":[1130,7,75,497,1676,403,461,48,177,189,6,47,76,3883,402,401,6279],"class_list":{"0":"post-305366","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando-magic","8":"tag-anthony-black","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-desmond-bane","12":"tag-dwight-howard","13":"tag-franz-wagner","14":"tag-jalen-suggs","15":"tag-magic","16":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","17":"tag-miami-heat","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-orlando","20":"tag-orlando-magic","21":"tag-orlandomagic","22":"tag-paolo-banchero","23":"tag-the-magic","24":"tag-tyus-jones"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115271715109087798","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}