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Orlando Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero trolled the New York Knicks fans after breaking their hearts with a 118-100 win against their team on Valentine’s Day.
Toward the end of the blowout win, Banchero motioned the Knicks fans in attendance to exit the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida.
“I enjoyed that a lot,” Banchero said in his postgame interview with Bally Sports Florida. “Every time we play them here, they try to make their presence be felt. You’ve got to give credit to them. But yeah it was time to send them home.”
The 2022 No. 1 pick got notoriety among Knicks fans when Kenny Smith mentioned him as one of the several top players in the East who is the best talent on the court every time the Knicks play.
“This is why the Knicks are going to stay in the middle. Every game they play, they’re going to have the second-best player,” Smith said on a TNT broadcast on December 5, 2023. “You play Boston, you got the second- or third-best player. You play Orlando, with [Paolo] Banchero, they don’t have a player that’s better than Banchero. Milwaukee, we know they don’t. Philadelphia, they don’t. The Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton is the best player on the floor. If you play the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler is the best player on the floor. You play the Cleveland Cavaliers, you have Donovan Mitchell. You don’t have the best player on the floor.”
During the blowout win, Banchero proved he was the best. He lorded it over the Knicks decimated frontline with 36 points on 15 of 20 shooting while adding six rebounds and five assists.
With the rout against the shorthanded Knicks, they now own the season tiebreaker as they improved to 3-0 against them this season.
Tom Thibodeau Impressed with Paolo Banchero
The 21-year-old Banchero impressed Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
“He’s an All-Star. You gotta guard a guy like that with your team,” Thibodeau told reporters after the game. “When he made his threes, that was a big thing for him. But he’s a load to deal with. He gets into the paint. He’s big, He’s strong. And he has a good mix of shots. He’s a guy that’s difficult to speed up. I thought he played a great game.”
Banchero hit 6 of 10 3-pointers against the Knicks which opened up the game for the Magic.
A 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, Banchero is growing to become one of the Knicks’ biggest hurdles in the Eastern Conference for the years to come.
Julius Randle Injury Update
One of the major reasons why Banchero had his way against the Knicks in the latest Magic win is the absence of Julius Randle, who was out since January 27 due to a dislocated right shoulder.
The Knicks’ three-time All-Star power forward is progressing well and could be back sooner than expected, according to Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
SNY’s Ian Begley further added the Knicks organization is optimistic about Randle’s return.
“I’ve heard during this period that there’s been some positive progression here during the rehab,” Begley said on “The Putback” on February 15. “I think that’s left people with even more reason to be optimistic that Randle will be back at some point this season. I don’t know if they’re out of the woods yet, but certainly, the progress that he has made over the last couple of weeks during this rehab stretch has left people excited about the possibility of him coming back.”
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