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WATCH: Donovan Mitchell dunks on Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero
Joe Lyons is a sports writer and has also been published by Nottingham Forest FC, working with the academy and senior teams to produce content on matchdays. He formerly covered the Premier League and EFL as an on-site reporter during the 2020/21 season for Prost International. He is an expert in a range of sports including soccer, basketball, darts and American football. Joe specialises in long form SEO content alongside news, tips and betting. His sports betting work can be found on SportsLens and The Sports Daily. Joe has a keen eye for the sports betting industry in the USA which covers the NBA and NFL, tracking and analysing the market as it changes throughout the season.
All posts by Joe LyonsUpdated21 Jul 2022
Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell has wasted no time in welcoming the 2022 NBA Draft’s first overall pick to the league, as he showed Paolo Banchero exactly how it’s done in a pickup game.
Banchero, who was selected by the Orlando Magic as the first overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft from Duke University, was joined by Donovan Mitchell in a pickup game in New York City earlier this week.
Donovan Mitchell is playing pickup in NYC today at trainer Chris Brinkley’s Black Op runs.
Here he crosses up and dunks on Paolo Banchero – and damn near breaks the basket stanchion in the process. pic.twitter.com/EclxU9l6E3
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) July 19, 2022
Banchero could do nothing except stand and watch as the three-time All-Star breezed past and threw it down as a nod to the sheer quality of talent that Banchero will face in the NBA very soon.
Mitchell, who is poised to be traded by the Utah Jazz this summer as part of a full rebuild, is tipped to be joining his hometown team New York Knicks this offseason to team up with the likes of Julius Randle and RJ Barrett at Madison Square Garden.
Donovan Mitchell, Emoni Bates and Paolo Banchero putting in work. 🔥
(via @Cbrickley603) pic.twitter.com/t5T9XVc7c3
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 19, 2022
Banchero essentially becomes the face of the Orlando Magic’s franchise, and will front an exciting young core featuring highly-rated talents such as Cole Anthony, Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr., Jalen Suggs, and former number one pick Markelle Fultz.
The 19-year-old couldn’t have dreamed of a warmer welcome to the most elite level of basketball on the planet than being posterised by a bonafide superstar – and maybe that’ll be him doing it one day to a young rookie.
