The NBA preseason does not start until October, but several players are already preparing for the new campaign.
Two of those are veteran point guard Chris Paul and budding superstar Paolo Banchero, who recently played in a scrimmage in Las Vegas.
Paul just signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers after he departed from the San Antonio Spurs.
He is expected to be the Clippers’ backup PG next season and help them towards their first championship alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
Banchero will be entering his fourth season with the Orlando Magic and is probably one leap away from being in Most Valuable Player discussions.
NBA fans had plenty to say about one observation after watching the video of them playing in Las Vegas.
Banchero, Paul, Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn, and Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan, were some of the high-profile players on the court.
Fans were impressed, as always, with Paul’s playmaking and Dunn’s seemingly improved jumpshot, but the most noticeable aspect was Banchero’s dominance.
The Magic superstar scored at will despite some physical defense and even when double-teamed by the opposition.
“P5 is too d— big to be moving like that. Bro was not affected by that contact,” one viewer commented.
“D—, Paolo is even getting doubled in a pick-up game. Teams can never let him go 1-on-1,” replied another.
Two more fans wrote, “Paolo always gets doubled,” and “Paolo is criminally underrated,” after watching the video.
“Paolo getting doubled in open gym runs lmao that boy good,” one said. “Paolo is a beast. He’s going to be the face of the NBA and future MVP,” a fan said.
Banchero has never given Magic fans any reason to be concerned about his future, but they would still have been anxious for him to sign a long-term deal.
Well, he prevented any potential speculation when he signed a five-year, $239 million contract earlier this month.
“It’s crazy where this little brown ball can take you, man: Take you all over the world, help you take care of the family, make your wildest dreams come true,” Banchero reacted to the news.
“You can do the unthinkable with this brown ball, man. Life’s a trip, I tell you, now let’s go win g—— championship man!”
