Top NBA draft pick on guarding Kevin Durant: ‘Just nothing you could do’
Paolo Banchero was drafted No. 1 overall by Orlando Magic
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kevin Durant is a professional scorer.
The 12-time All-Star isn't showing any signs of slowing down in his 15th NBA season, scoring 30.4 points per game as he’s carried the Brooklyn Nets to a 19-12 record.
Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, right, in action against Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center on Nov. 28, 2022, in New York City. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Durant has long been viewed as arguably the greatest scoring forward in the history of the game and as one of the most difficult players to guard in the league.
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One NBA rookie quickly learned the challenge that Durant poses.
Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, discussed his experience in guarding Durant on the "Old Man and the Three" podcast, describing it as the first time in his career of having no answers as a defender.
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"KD I think was kind of my little ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment," Banchero said on the podcast. "I guarded him for most of that game and there was really just nothing you could do. Some guys get to the line a bunch, or play with the refs and get calls and that’s how they get 14 points from the line, or whatever. But KD was straight business."
Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic looks on during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 19, 2022, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. (Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)
"[Durant] [w]asn’t saying nothing to the refs. I think he had like four or five free throws, but he had 45 [points]. So, most of those were buckets."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Orlando Magic and the Nets have squared off once this season, a 109-102 Brooklyn victory in late November.
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Durant had 45 points on 19-24 shooting from the floor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He was the first player I think I’ve guarded in my life where there was nothing I can do," Banchero continued. "Usually a guy can make some shots on me, but I can fluster him a little bit. I can get into him, make him miss here or there. But that was just like, he don’t even see me right now."
Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets looks on against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 18, 2022, in Detroit. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Banchero is no slouch offensively himself, scoring 21.8 points per game on 44.8% shooting from the field in his rookie season.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Most impressively, Banchero is averaging 8.4 free-throw attempts per game, the fifth-most by a rookie since the NBA/ABA merger, according to The Ringer.
Banchero and Durant will face each other twice more this season, with the next matchup between the Nets and Magic coming at the end of March.