Moments After Showering Praise For Kelsey Plum, Paolo Banchero Forced to Defend Statement Against 76ers’ ex-No. 1 Pick

Ahead of the upcoming NBA season, Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero sat down for a podcast. The #1 pick of 2022 NBA draft addressed various aspects of his career. Apart from that, he also spoke about several stars outside the league. Notably, he spoke about WNBA star Kelsey Plum and showered praise about early basketball career. However, it didn’t end there, as it forced him to drop a public message to defend his Magic teammate.

Banchero completed his rookie year with the Magic, displaying his wizardry. Aptly he went on to win the Rookie of the Year award, averaging 20 points in 72 games. Importantly, fans predict him to further improve in the coming years. Amid the heightened expectation set around him for the upcoming season, fans watch out for him closely. However, it was his own teammate, who caught him off guard on his recent statement in a podcast.

Hours after praising Kelsey Plum, Banchero defends his teammate

In the recent podcast episode of?Crew Has It, Paolo Banchero highly praised the Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum. He said,?“She is dropping 40s and 50s, like it’s nothing in college… She is better than anybody on the boys’ team,” speaking of her college basketball. Then he went on to say,?“i just always had the respect for women?s hoopers because they deserve it.”?

Moments after the podcasts streamed online, 2017 #1 NBA Draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers Markelle Fultz took to his X, formerly known as Twitter, put Banchero on spot. He reshared the podcast video where Banchero spoke about Plum and wrote, “Damn I was on the boys team.”?However, Flutz’s Magic team took care of the situation immediately.

In response to Fultz tweet, Banchero wrote,?“u was really in a league of ur own brother!”?leaving the fans in disbelief in the comments.

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Fultz and Plum both represented the Washington Huskies in their college basketball and both went into the professional leagues with a lot of expectations placed on their shoulders.

Plum’s WNBA career

Kelsey Plum single-handedly changed the dynamics of women’s college basketball in her 4-year career with UW. Seattle Times reported that Plum brought in sell-out crowds to her games in college. Cut to her WNBA career, she is currently considered as the franchise superstar of the Aces team. She went on to lead her championship in 2022. Moreover, in the current season, the Aces stands in the top of the points table with 26-10 record.

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What do you make of the banter between Banchero and his Magic teammate Fultz? Let us know in the comments below.