A strong start to the season has taken a turn for the worse for Paolo Banchero.
The Orlando Magic forward is out for the foreseeable after suffering a low-grade right high ankle sprain, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Saturday.
There is no formal timetable for a return, but a low-grade high ankle sprain typically takes several weeks or even months to heal. If Banchero misses four weeks, that means he'd be sidelined for about 13 games.
Banchero told The Orlando Sentinel after the game that he began experiencing discomfort in the first quarter. He continued to play essentially his normal minutes, logging 26 through the first three quarters before not playing in the fourth — with the outcome basically decided.
Banchero scored 14 points and added six rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes. He impressed in the first game of the campaign, finishing with 35 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in a 132-125 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
A first-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Banchero missed nearly half of 2024-25 with a torn oblique muscle but rebounded to play 72 games last season. The Magic went 7-3 in 10 games without Banchero last season.
However, the Magic's other star forward, Franz Wagner, struggled with calf and ankle injuries last season and played just 34 games.
Orlando added Desmond Bane to its promising young core last off-season, but has still not won a playoff series since 2010.
-- with files from the Associated Press
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