Can Paolo Banchero be the Best Version of Himself in 2026-27?

Fall has begun, and the Orlando Magic are holding Media Day on Monday, which means the NBA offseason is over.

The Magic will not play a game until they kick off the preseason against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 7, but training camp begins on Tuesday, and it will be time to build the makings of what needs to be a successful season.

On the sideline, new head coach Sean Sweeney will take the reins. But on the floor, it needs to be Paolo Banchero.

Banchero is the face of the franchise, and a lot of money and trust has been put into him being the No. 1 option and leader of this team. For Orlando to succeed, Banchero needs to be at his best.

Through four seasons, the 23-year-old has demonstrated his potential plenty of times. Now, it is time for him to be a star on a consistent basis. This can be the year for him to do that, but it is going to take work. 

On the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I discussed what kind of season it needs to be for Banchero with my colleague Andrew Cherico. Here is what I had to say:

"I think for Paolo, something changed when the Magic lost that series against the Pistons. You could tell in his Game 7 presser, a big Game 7, I believe he had a 38-point double-double or close to it. That was after dropping 45 and going head-to-head with Cunningham in Game 5. He's tired of losing. He's tired of simply just making it to the big stage and not doing anything on it. 

He has shown time and time again through his summer work ethic what he's all about, working with his agent Mike Miller, working with other trainers, so on and so forth. He gave us that mid-summer appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show where he talked about how important this season is for the Magic and how important it is for him personally, how he wants to become more durable.

You're not out of bounds with the LeBron comparisons. Those were being made. It's something I talked about recently. Granted, no one is LeBron James, but Paolo can do what he can to recapture some of those comparisons. He's got the right kind of build. He can capture that type of athleticism, but really the key is, like you said, just being decisive and aggressive because he was indecisive and passive many times last season. 

The good news about him is he acknowledged all that and he's worked toward it. I do think given the accountability he's taken, given the skill level we know he is capable of achieving, and now having a new head coach that can help unlock that further because, I mean, Sean Sweeney's worked with Giannis, like he's worked with these bigger guys before and helped them elevate parts of their game to become stars. I've said it before, I think this season the floor for Paolo has to be All-Star.

Then the ceiling, he has to find a way to do his best to get in that MVP conversation, All-NBA conversation, and really show why this organization made him the face of the franchise. But yeah, I think it's going to be a good year for P5, and we're going to learn a lot more on Monday."