Magic star Paolo Banchero is accused of ‘betrayal’ as he chooses to represent USA over Italy

With the FIBA World Cup getting closer, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero had one last decision to make before the start of the summer. The Magic star finally chose to represent Team USA, which surprised everyone at the Italian Basketball Federation.  

Just a couple of days after the power foward confirmed his commitment to the American squad, the President of the Italian organization Gianni Petrucci blasted the 20-year-old for lying about his true intentions when choosing who he’d play for in August.

Even though Banchero was born and raised in the United States, he owns an Italian passport as his father is from the European country. This gave him the possibility to represent them, just as he confessed last year that he intended to represent Italy when the time came.

According to a translation from Basketnews, the federation’s leader revealed that Banchero didn’t even let them know about his commitment to Team USA.

“It was a legitimate decision, but he could have made a call to communicate that to us. Instead, we learned about his decision from the newspapers,” Petrucci told famous Italian media La Gazzetta dello Sport. “In the past few days, he was in Milan, and despite our agreements with his agency, he avoided the meeting with Coach Pozzecco.

“Betrayal, especially in basketball, is a strong word. Situations like this happen, and personally, I’m used to it. But he fooled us, we were planning a great commercial strategy for him. Now we need to turn this disappointment into positive energy, I’m sure our coach will be able to do it.”

In a way, this is the second time in his short career that the current Rookie of the Year hasn’t been clear about what’s on his mind. Back when he was heading to college, everyone expected him to play for the University of Washington, especially as his mother had played for their women’s basketball team.

However, just as that college was preparing for his announcement as a new Huskies player, he surprisingly commited to Duke.

The rising star just produced one of the strongest-ever campaigns as a first-year player in the NBA, averaging 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest while shooting 42.7% from field goal attempts and 29.3% from beyond the arc.

Now that Banchero confirmed his Team USA participation, there is only one more spot left in their World Cup roster

With Banchero’s addition, the American squad now has 11 of 12 spots filled for its’ World Cup roster. As the competition is scheduled to start on August 25, the last player should be confirmed in the next few days.

It is important to mention that historically, the United Stated has never taken the country’s best players to these competitions, as they usually give the opportunity to rising stars in the NBA. Up to this point, the 11 roster spots are completed by some All-Stars, as well as young prospects.

The list starts with Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges, Knicks star Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards from Minnesota, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Brandon Ingram from New Orleans, Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Cam Johnson from the Nets, young star Walker Kessler, Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves from Los Angeles, and of course, Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero.

The Orlando star will probably compete for minutes with both Bridges and Jackson, as they are the strongest choices for starting as the team’s power fowards.