Work until you no longer have to introduce yourself. This seems to have worked for Paolo Banchero. If not with everyone else, then at least with ex-Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce. Notably, Pierce had once failed to recognize the 21-year-old by his name. Pierce stated the Orlando Magic star will have to earn the right to be recognized by him. And now it has happened to the extent of Paul promoting Paolo with some bold comparisons.

“Hey, I know your name now,” stated the ex-Celtics star, appearing on The Truth Longue podcast. He started the discussion by highlighting the fact that Banchero not getting enough recognition is partly due to him not getting enough national coverage.

“He made the All-Star team in his second year. I look up, and Orlando is in the fourth slot. Who pegged Orlando after the season? They had last year as a top-four seed, possibly gonna show up a first-round home-court advantage. Nobody saw that coming. And I don’t hear nobody nationally talking about Paolo,” Paul Pierce stated, recollecting the time even he did not recognize the Magic star by his name.

He further reemphasized the fact no one is talking about some of these next generation of players just because they are not there on the National TV. Pierce believes Paolo to be in the next group of young superstars that need to be talked about. He even compared the 21-year-old to the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards. “He (Paolo Banchero) in the same sentence as Shai, Anthony Edwards,” Pierce stated.

However, the podcast co-host Jason Crowe disagreed with this comparison. Crowe believes Banchero to be in the next sentence, maybe, but not along the same lines as Shai and Edwards. He backed his belief by stating Shai and Anthony are MVP candidates while Paolo is not. But Paul Pierce believes that the Magic star is also soon arriving on the same level as the other two players.

Analyzing Paul Pierce’s claim of Paolo being in the same league as Edwards and Shai

It is worth mentioning that this is just the second NBA season for Paolo. Shai is way ahead of the Magic star this season in terms of points per game but Banchero has been better than what Shai was during his second NBA season. The 21-year-old has averaged 22.5, points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season as compared to Shai’s 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in his second season (2019-20).

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Comparing Paolo and SGA’s first-season stats, the difference is even more surprising. Playing for the LA Clippers, Shai averaged just 10.8 points per game in his first season, as compared to Banchero’s 20.0 ppg. Paolo’s stat line in his rookie year also led to him winning the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year award.

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Coming on to Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves star has a similar story to that of Shai. However, the difference in this case is not so stark in any of the seasons. At present, similar to Shai, Anthony has an edge over Paolo with 26.3 ppg this season. However, bringing in the second season in comparison, Paolo has a lead over Edwards. The Timberwolves star averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in his second season.

The stats make it evident that both Alexander and Edwards grew with their time in the NBA. And the potential Paolo has displayed in his first two seasons, he is most likely to follow a similar path of growth. So Paul Pierce is not completely wrong in saying Paolo Banchero comes in the same sentence as Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, he needs more focus on himself for others to be sharing the same opinion.

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