OKC Thunder: Top games to watch top prospect Paolo Banchero

The OKC Thunder are preparing for another NBA season as the 2021-22 campaign gets started with training camp next week before kicking into high gear with the preseason in three weeks. However, just as a year ago, one of the main topics of conversation around Bricktown will be the NBA Draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder control 3 first-round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. An unprotected Clippers selection, a top-12 protected Suns slot, and of course the most valuable of the bench, their pick.

OKC Thunder top prospect Paolo Banchero is set to play in a ton of must-watch games

Paolo Banchero is battling for the top spot in the 2022 NBA Draft with the likes of Chet Holmgren who is off to Gonzaga, and even Jaden Hardy of the G-League Ignite.

Banchero elected to sign his letter of intent with the Duke Blue Devils taking his talents to Durham, North Carolina.

At 18-year-old he comes in with a 6’9 frame and weighs 235 pounds, His perimeter skills at this size are hard to come by. He has the speed to blow by bigger defenders, and the power to bruise through smaller matchups.

As a great rebounder, solid playmaking, and an ability to create for himself, Paolo Banchero fits the mold the OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti, and head coach Mark Daigneault are trying to build with their roster.

As Banchero heads to one of the College Basketball Blue Bloods, Duke, and playing in one of the top hoops conferences in America, the ACC, the big man will play in a ton of must-watch games for OKC Thunder fans who want to keep an eye on top prospects.

Duke’s regular season will tip off with a matchup against Kentucky on National Television, ESPN, on November 9th. This is part of the State Farm Champions Classic that will see Michigan State and Kansas face off on the same day from the Mecca, Madison Square Garden.

The team will then play a few cupcakes in Army, Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Lafayette, and the Citadel.

Those are all the ups for the main event, as the Blue Devils travel to Las Vegas for a Thanksgiving event, the Continental Tire Challenge which will see Paolo Banchero go head to head with Chet Holmgren’s Gonzaga squad in what will likely be the highest-rated college basketball game of the season.

Days later, the team takes on a tough Ohio State time in Columbus, Ohio for another must-watch clash.

After a trio of cupcakes, conference play begins in the tough ACC. Some key dates include Notre Dame on the road on New Years Day, North Carolina in Chapel Hill on February 5th, the return trip to Durham comes on March 5th, with a pair of key matchups against an always defensive tough Virginia squad on February 7th, and 23rd.

Banchero is the prize of this draft class, at his size the fact he can be the bucket getter for an NBA franchise is jaw-dropping. Not to mention his bounce, ability to absorb contact, and pretty smooth shooting stroke even off the dribble.

If Josh Giddey pans out as the elite playmaker and passer he projects to be while becoming a league average or better 3-point shooter, adding a bonafide bucket to a backcourt that features Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and an elite table-setter could have the next big three arriving in Bricktown sooner rather than later.

As a hot take to end this article, a treat for the audience, Paolo Banchero is a bigger Jalen Green that plays more under control. *ducks, dodging tomatoes and hits the publish button.*