The Orlando Magic surprised just about everyone on Thursday night during the NBA Draft.
For hours leading up to the draft, many people felt they knew the choice the team would make.
Yet, when the draft actually began and their number one selection was made, people were caught off guard.
That’s because even though most people thought Orlando would go with Jabari Smith in the number one spot, they actually went with Paolo Banchero instead.
Even the top NBA insider was thrown off his game by the Magic’s fast one.
As team boards finalize today, the 1-2-3 of the NBA Draft is increasingly firm, per sources: Jabari Smith to Orlando, Chet Holmgren to Oklahoma City and Paolo Banchero to Houston.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2022
Early Thursday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski said that the first three picks in the draft were becoming more and more certain: Smith, Chet Holmgren at number two, then Banchero.
It’s rare that Woj gets anything wrong so to see him make such a big mistake was a bit shocking for his followers.
But did he really get things wrong or was he tricked?
Pulling A Fast One
It seems obvious now that the Magic were misleading just about everyone before the draft began.
They were certainly sending out indications that they would select Smith with their number one selection.
But they were secretly starting to grow more impressed with Banchero and what he can provide the team.
By not telling the truth to analysts like Wojnarowski, the Magic threw off the other teams right away.
It didn’t disrupt things too much and the order of the draft went about as expected after this major change.
But it certainly got things off to a very wild start.
The draft is usually decided days before it’s held and big changes at the top don’t happen that often.
The Magic just wanted to do things differently this year.
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