Duke's Paolo Banchero was drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Phillips Norelco is helping athletes get ready for the draft with their Phillips Norelco
00:04 OneBlade so the guys can look and feel their best for that draft spotlight.
00:09 I'm Robin Lundberg, joined now by someone who will be in that draft spotlight, Paolo
00:13 Bencaro.
00:14 Now Paolo, when you look at this upcoming NBA draft, I'm assuming, I know it happened
00:21 to you not that long ago at a Formula One race where the announcer came up to you and
00:25 asked or thought you were Patrick Mahomes.
00:27 I'm assuming no NBA team has confused you for Patrick Mahomes during the lead up to
00:32 the draft.
00:33 Yeah, no NBA team has messed that up, thankfully.
00:36 But a lot of people have confused me with Matisse Stiebel, which is funny because we're
00:41 from the same city, went to rival high schools.
00:44 That's really the most common mix up is Matisse.
00:46 But yeah, Patrick Mahomes was the first.
00:49 But like you said, thankfully no NBA teams have gotten that wrong.
00:54 What was your reaction when that Mahomes clip went viral?
00:58 It was happened so fast.
00:59 I was at the race, enjoying the whole experience.
01:02 And then all of a sudden, the reporter came up and just started asking a bunch of questions.
01:07 And I was just went along kind of with it.
01:09 I didn't know it was a national broadcast or anything.
01:12 So literally, as soon as I got known with the interview, probably like 20 seconds later,
01:17 people were like, yo, you were just on TV.
01:19 They thought you were Patrick Mahomes, going crazy.
01:22 And I was like, I honestly had no idea that that stuff happened.
01:26 So it was a crazy experience and it happened real fast.
01:29 But I mean, I guess it kind of worked out in a positive way.
01:33 Well, you know, hopefully you can have a Patrick Mahomes level career in the NBA, that comparison,
01:39 right?
01:40 As far as football, though, your old high school coach, who you played some quarterback for,
01:45 said that you would be a first round prospect in the NFL draft if you would continue down
01:49 that path.
01:50 Do you agree with that assessment?
01:51 Man, football, especially quarterback, is the hardest position I feel like in sports.
01:56 And so to play it at that level, I don't want to pump myself up.
02:00 I don't know if I would have been a first round pick, but I was good at football, though.
02:04 I would say I was a high level football player, but I ain't going to run with it and say I
02:08 was just a first round pick.
02:09 I feel like that would be disrespecting some of the guys that got drafted or trying to
02:14 get drafted to just say I'd be a first round pick.
02:16 But I appreciate him showing love.
02:20 That just really speaks about how he thought of me and just how great of a coach he is.
02:26 Coach Kohler is a legendary coach in Washington.
02:30 When and why did you know it was basketball for you?
02:33 Why?
02:34 Well, yeah, I grew, really.
02:36 That's really why I kind of had to give up football.
02:38 I just kept growing, kept growing, kept getting taller.
02:41 So that's what mainly influenced my decision.
02:43 And then I just, yeah, I fell in love with basketball, started really, really working
02:47 at it, really getting better.
02:48 And yeah, I just made the decision.
02:50 Now, obviously, you played at Duke and you played for Coach K for one year during his
02:55 final season.
02:57 Is there any particular one nugget of advice that he left with you that you think will
03:01 help you moving toward the NBA?
03:04 Yeah, I mean, he gave me advice every day, you know, always dropping gems, you know,
03:10 throughout practices, games, you know, just always dropping knowledge.
03:14 And the one thing I think stuck with me was, you know, always have strong faces and always
03:19 have strong body language on and off the court.
03:21 You know, you don't want to show anyone weakness.
03:24 You don't want to show anyone, you know, kind of vulnerability on the court.
03:27 You know, you want to be presentable and keep a strong posture.
03:31 Now, you know, in recent days, the odds have actually moved toward more favorably toward
03:36 you being the number one pick in the draft.
03:39 Is that something you've noticed and paid attention to at all?
03:42 I don't gamble or bet, so, you know, I don't pay a lot of attention to what the odds or
03:47 what the bets are looking like.
03:48 But, you know, I mean, I don't know.
03:52 I don't have a reason for why that's happening, but, you know, hopefully it does.
03:57 And if you are drafted number one, the Magic or whomever that is, if there's a trade that
04:01 they won't regret it, I'm assuming you're here saying.
04:04 Oh, no, for sure.
04:07 If I get chosen number one, they're going to get a number one type caliber player for
04:12 sure.
04:13 So, you know, I'll be excited wherever I go, whether it's Orlando, Houston, OKC, you know,
04:17 they're going to get a number one overall caliber player.
04:20 You know, we don't know if it will be any of those three teams or which of those three
04:23 teams it will be, I think, more specifically.
04:25 But I did see that you plan to play for Italy.
04:27 Yes, sir.
04:28 I'm a member of the national team.
04:31 I'm an Italian citizen.
04:32 So yeah, that's the plan to play for Italy.
04:36 And give Team USA the business?
04:38 Yeah, if we if we see USA, we won't go out of it.
04:42 So, you know, whether that's in the Olympics or whatever other FIBA event, you know, we're
04:48 going to give it the best shot.
04:50 And how is Phillips and Relko gave you your best shot to be ready for the draft, at least
04:54 from a look and feel wise?
04:55 Yeah, man, Phillips and Relko, you know, the whole one blade team is really, really helping
05:01 me get ready.
05:02 You know, I don't have a lot of face for her, but I definitely have some areas I need some
05:04 touch ups and whatever.
05:07 So you know, for draft night, you know, whether I'm a little nervous or anxious, you know,
05:12 I can always count on Phillips or Relko to, you know, make sure I'm at least looking sharp,
05:16 whether I'm nervous or not.
05:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]