NBA Analyst Has Unfortunate Comparison For Paolo Banchero

Paolo Banchero is one of the most hyped young players in the NBA. In his first three seasons, he put up big numbers and helped bring the Orlando Magic back into playoff relevance. However, after a somewhat slow start to the 2024–25 NBA season, some are wondering if Paolo is more raw numbers and less winning basketball. 

NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry went on the Zach Lowe Show podcast and brought up a Paolo Banchero player comp that isn’t too flattering.  

“I’m going to raise the red flag over Paolo Banchero Island. This is such a key moment for him, and I hesitate to admit this — but at times,  he reminds me of Josh Smith.  He’s made just five of his 27 jump shots this year, and I’m not cherry-picking. I love Paolo — he’s a huge part of the future of American basketball — but last season, among the 62  most active jump shooters in the NBA, he ranked 60th in efficiency. He has a jump-shooting problem, and as the team’s most active scorer, that’s an issue. Some of the advanced numbers aren’t trending in the right direction, and this start to the season has cemented in my mind  that he might not be improving at this key phase of his career.”

Josh Smith had a solid NBA career, but for Paolo to be compared to him is not a good thing. Smith never made a single All-Star Game and only made the All-NBA Defensive Team one time.

What Goldsberry is saying isn’t that Paolo is going to be Josh Smith, but that he needs to stop relying on jump shots as his primary way of scoring. Banchero has a huge frame and should be using it to get to the rim and take more efficient shots.

Banchero is still super young and has a ton of time to figure out what kind of player he wants to be. However, if he keeps bricking jump shots, he’s more likely to become Josh Smith than Carmelo Anthony.