In a surprise twist, the Magic have selected Duke forward Paolo Banchero with the first overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft.

For well over a month, league insiders had predicted that Orlando favored Jabari Smith with the first pick, but obviously the Magic liked Banchero more.

In 39 games as a freshman in this season, the 6’10” Banchero averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.2 APG and 1.1 SPG on .478/.338/.729 shooting. He helped lead the Blue Devils to a 32-7 record and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they ultimately fell to long-time rival North Carolina in the Final Four.