Paolo Banchero's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been added to the injury report ahead of Thursday's matchup against Cleveland, with the team listing him as questionable with an illness. Banchero will be out for the first time this season if he misses Thursday's action. Moritz Wagner or Jonathan Isaac could replace him in the starting unit. Wagner is definitely the safer option for fantasy managers, as he's been posting good per-minute numbers all season.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero pulled off a spectacular performance on Friday against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, leading his team to a 122-120 road win with his first career triple-double. He topped all scorers with 32 points on 8-for-21 shooting and registered 10 rebounds with 11 assists while adding three steals on the defensive end. Banchero's shooting performance could've been better, but he got past the 30-point mark thanks to his 15-for-19 effort at the charity stripe. The first pick from the 2022 NBA Draft has had a hugely impressive opening to 2024, averaging 34.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists with 1.7 steals.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (ankle), who suffered a sprained right ankle in the third quarter of Wednesday's 138-135 double-overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings, achieved a career-high 43 points with six three-pointers, five assists, four rebounds, and eight turnovers. It was the second night of Orlando's back-to-back after Tuesday's hard-fought matchup with the Golden State Warriors, and Banchero nearly played the role of hero. The 21-year-old reigning Rookie of the Year remains a far superior points-league fantasy asset for his 70.4% free-throw shooting on heavy volume and 3.3 turnovers per game, but he is still pouring in 22.4 points, 7.1 boards, 4.7 dimes, 1.5 triples, and 1.0 steals. Banchero may pop up on Friday's injury report when the Magic finish a four-game West Coast trip with a duel against the defending-champion Denver Nuggets.