Paolo Banchero and Jaden Ivey Shined in Their NBA Debut

Paolo Banchero and Jaden Ivey shined in their NBA debuts as they went head-to-head in the first game of the season.

On Wednesday, the Pistons narrowly defeated the Magic 113-109 at home in a game that went down to the wire. This exciting matchup featured a plethora of draft Twitter crushes, including Cade Cunningham and Franz Wagner. However, you could argue Banchero and Ivey were the most impressive players on the floor.

Banchero played out of his mind, recording 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks while shooting 61% from the field. He was unbelievable in the second half, scoring 18 points as the Magic tried to outlast the Pistons.

This was a historic debut, as he is just the fourth player in NBA history to record 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists while shooting 60% from the field in their first game.

His advanced stats were really good, as he had a true shooting percentage of 64%, an assist rate of 25.1%, a plus-minus of +2, and a net rating of +8. This means he was efficient as a scorer, productive as a passer, and his team performed well while he was on the court.

His shot chart from this contest was interesting. He generated 15 shot attempts at the rim and didn’t attempt a single three-pointer. If he can continue getting to the rim at this rate while adding some threes to his shot diet, he could become a dangerous scorer someday.

The fact that he’s already scoring at a high volume and doing so efficiently while being a plus passer at 6’10 and 250 lbs. is remarkable.

In his press conference, Banchero stated he thought he left some points on the board.

“It's crazy, you know; I felt like I left a lot of points on the board,” he said. “I missed three layups and some shots I feel like I could have made.”

Despite feeling like he missed some shots he shouldn’t have, the rookie was content with how he played.

“I wasn't disappointed with the way I played,” he said. “I thought I played hard, I thought I played to the end, I thought we played hard, so it was a positive showing for us, but obviously, we would like to get the win.”

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Jaden Ivey looked really good as well, as he helped the Pistons come away with a four-point victory. The rookie guard recorded 19 points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals while shooting 53% from the field. He was very efficient as a scorer, sporting a true shooting percentage of 61.5%. He was also fairly productive as a passer, sporting an assist rate of 21.7%

It’s hard to tell how his production affected the team. He had a plus-minus of -4, but he also had a net rating of +8, so there’s some evidence that the Pistons were pretty good while he was on the floor.

Ivey wasn’t as productive as Banchero, but he was second on the Pistons in scoring, and he had a huge second half, scoring 13 points to help the Pistons secure the victory.

This was a great start to his career, but If he can increase his three-point volume and become a more productive passer, he has a chance to be a really good offensive player in this league.

After the win, Jaden Ivey described what this first game was like.

“It's just special,” he said. “You dream as a kid to play your first NBA game. it's just special that I get to play for Detroit.”