Draymond Green has high praise for rookie Paolo Banchero

Less than a month after winning the NBA title, Draymond Green is already doing some scouting.

The Golden State Warriors star Green said this week on an episode of his podcast for The Volume that he was impressed with the performance of Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero in Summer League this year.

“Paolo Banchero … is one of them ones,” said Green. “The reason I think Paolo is one of them guys is because of the things he did on the basketball court that were not scoring. Yes, he did all the things with the basketball. Yes, he made the plays. But the plays he made that did not involve him having the basketball is why I think Paolo will be one of the guys.

“Him getting on teammates coming in as a rookie, the winning plays that he was making down the stretch,” Green added. “When was the last time we’ve seen the Orlando Magic compete to win games like they were competing to win when Paolo was on the court? … [Paolo] is a winner … he cares. He was out there playing in Summer League games like he was playing the NBA Finals, with that type of intensity. That is a winner right before your eyes.”

Though the Magic shut down the former Duke star Banchero after just two Summer League games, he showed more than enough promise during that stretch. Banchero finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and six assists in a win over the Houston Rockets (thoroughly outplaying fellow rookie Jabari Smith Jr.) and then tacked on 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists (plus four steals and two blocks) in another win over the Sacramento Kings.

Banchero, 19, was an extremely surprising top overall draft pick by Orlando. But he is already acting like a seasoned veteran in more ways than one and seems to have won over the four-time champion Green in very short order.