Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero wants a win for his birthday

ORLANDO – What do you give a wealthy NBA player for his 23rd birthday who appears to already have it all?

Well, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero wants something money can’t buy and has been hard for his franchise to come by early this season: a victory Wednesday against the NBA title-contending New York Knicks.

“Damn, I’m already going to be 23. Time is flying by,” Banchero told Andscape after practice last Friday. “But I’m just excited. We get to play on my birthday, so it should be a big game. I’m just ready to accomplish more, honestly. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot, but at the same time I’m definitely not satisfied with what I’ve accomplished or happy. I’m definitely just as hungry to do more. …

“The best gift I could get is a dub [win] and a good performance. We’ll be on ESPN for that one. So yeah, hopefully I can just play my best and we can get a win.”

Banchero and the Magic host the Knicks on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). The expectations entering this season for the 2023 NBA All-Star were that his Magic were going to compete with the likes of the Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference crown.

Orlando not only returned Banchero and fellow star forward Franz Wagner but also added one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters in veteran guard Desmond Bane via a surprising trade. The Magic have not been to the NBA Finals since 2009 and have never won a championship.

Three days into training camp, Banchero told Andscape that “the goal, the mission” was to win an NBA championship.

“We could be extremely good. I think we’ll be the best team in the East,” Banchero told Andscape during training camp. “And health is important, but just going into my fourth year, having been three years in and been in the playoffs the last two, I feel like I know what it’s going to take and how you have to build up and what your team needs to be able to do in order to be successful. We’re going to be able to do those things this [season].”

Reality, however, has the Magic mediocre early this NBA season with a 5-6 record although there are 71 regular-season games remaining.

With the addition of Bane, the Magic were hoping to vault from one of the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting teams to one of its best. Bane, despite hitting a game-winning 3 for Orlando on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers, has gotten off to a slow start, shooting a career-worst 25% from 3-point range through 11 games. Orlando averaged a dismal 16.5 turnovers per game through 11 games, including 17 turnovers for 29 points in a home loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Magic also entered Wednesday 29th in the NBA in 3-pointers made per game (10.5) and 15th in NBA defensive efficiency (114.2 points allowed per 100 possessions). While Banchero’s rebounding average has improved, his scoring has dipped.

“I have to be better, obviously,” Banchero said. “As a team, we just got to find our rhythm and just kind of get back to doing what we do – obviously, defending better. Our calling card is defense, and our defense has been slipping a little bit. So, we have to get back to an elite level. Then offensively, just finding the flow and getting guys involved, trying to get guys going on that end. …

“Basically, we’re just taking it one game at a time. Can’t overreact too early in the season, good or bad. But still, though, you’ve got to have a real sense of urgency, turn it around and start getting some wins.”

Adding urgency to the Magic’s expectations for Banchero, who averaged career highs of 25.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season, was him signing a five-year, $239 million contract extension during the offseason. After signing the new pact at his mansion he purchased in Orlando in 2024, Banchero felt “surreal” and celebrated in a unique way.

“I definitely signed it right away. There was no real thought. Just where do I sign?” Banchero said. “It was a surreal feeling. The day it got announced and everything, the day it got done, I didn’t know what to even do. My phone was blowing up. Everybody wanted to congratulate and call me and it was like the middle of the day and I was just sitting in the house and I was just like, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Am I supposed to go celebrate or am I supposed to respond to everybody? I don’t know.’

“So, I had worked out that morning and I ended up just going back to the gym that night. And I was just like, ‘I’ll just go say thank you to the game and just go get some shots up.’ And that’d be my way of celebrating, kind of paying it back to the game for blessing me in that way. So that’s kind of what I did. I didn’t really know how else to handle it.”

With that mammoth contract comes expectations that the star will lead the franchise to winning and take the responsibility in losing. Banchero gladly accepts that responsibility and is focused on doing everything he can to lift the Magic.

“It’s a great responsibility to just be a leader, be a big part of the success of this team and this organization,” Banchero said. “Obviously that’s why they pay you. What they pay you is to get return on their investment to win those games and win championships. That’s been my goal since the first day I stepped in here. That hasn’t changed. If anything, that’s elevated what I’m trying to do here and what we want to accomplish.”

Banchero said he didn’t make any lavish purchase with the signing of his new contract. Orlando head coach Jamahl Mosley and forward/center Wendell Carter Jr. don’t expect the big contract to change Banchero negatively.

“He’s so generous and so caring and it doesn’t change who he is,” Mosley told Andscape. “That’s the best part about him. He comes from such a beautiful family environment in Seattle that he’s not changing no matter what he was handed. It’s the character of who he is. It’s what he represents. It’s how he was raised top to bottom. Everybody that’s had a hand in how he was brought up, the money is not changing that.”

Carter, Jr. said Banchero is the “same person” after signing his big contract.

“He is a guy who is a lot more mature than his age,” Carter Jr. told Andscape. “He doesn’t let the money affect him and make him bigger than the program. He wants to be a part of it. He wants to bring wins and championships to this organization.”

The mild-mannered Banchero isn’t expected to turn up at an Orlando club to celebrate his birthday after Wednesday’s game. A win and a solid performance against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks would suffice. If Banchero can get a win and his grandmother can find the time to make his favorite birthday cake, his birthday will be perfect.

“I’d probably want some type of chocolate cake or ice cream cake, but probably chocolate cake,” Banchero said. “My grandma’s chocolate cake, she always made good chocolate cake growing up. It’s probably her cake that I would want.”

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