Banchero named Rookie of the Month for 3rd time in a row
Despite coming off a down month, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero matched a feat on Thursday attained by only one other player in franchise history.
Banchero was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in February, the league announced.
The No. 1 pick in the draft, Banchero was second among rookies in scoring with 16.6 points per game for the month to go along with 7.5 rebounds (fourth) and 3.3 assists (fourth).
He only shot 37.4% from the field, 3% on 3s (1-for-33) and 71.1% on 6.9 free throw attempts per game for a 44.8% true shooting accuracy — a formula that incorporates free throws and higher-value 3-point shots.
This was Banchero’s lowest-scoring and least-efficient shooting month, but he still took home the award after being a significant reason why the Magic went 6-5.
Banchero joined Shaquille O’Neal as the only Magic players to be named the league’s top rookie in three consecutive months. O’Neal did it four straight times.
Banchero, O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Mike Miller and Victor Oladipo are the only Magic players to be named Rookie of the Month more than once.
The nine Magic players who won Rookie of the Month:
■ Dennis Scott (March 1991).
■ O’Neal (four times — November 1992-February 1993).
■ Hardaway (twice — January and April 1994);
■ Miller (twice — February and March 2001).
■ Oladipo (twice — December 2013 and February 2014).
■ Elfrid Payton (January 2015).
■ R.J. Hampton (May 2021).
■ Franz Wagner (December 2021).
■ Banchero (three times — December 2022, January and
February 2023).
Rookie of the Month was awarded to one rookie in the NBA until the 2001-02 season, when the league started giving the honor to one rookie from each conference.
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, the No. 22 pick, was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month.
Banchero has the best odds of winning Rookie of the Year as of Thursday, according to VegasInsider.com.
He’s averaging 19.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists, leading all rookies in scoring and minutes while also ranking third in assists and steals and fourth in rebounding.
The Magic (26-37) close out their three-game road trip against the Charlotte Hornets (20-44) tonight at Spectrum Center.