Paolo Banchero Was in Tears During Postgame Interview Following Game-Winner

The Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-109, on Saturday. Paolo Banchero hit the game-winner with 0.8 seconds remaining, but it was clearly so much more than that. During a postgame interview with Bally Sports Florida’s Kendra Douglas, Bachnero fought back tears and had trouble finding the right words to explain how he was feeling.

“It’s just been tough, man. I’ve been feeling terrible. I played terrible. And I just give credit to my teammates, man. They lifted me up the whole game so… I don’t know why I’m f-cking crying right now. I don’t know why I’m crying right now. It was a hard game and I’m proud of my team for sure.”

Banchero, who hasn’t missed a game this season, has been battling an illness since returning from his first All-Star game. He struggled in the team’s first game back, making just 4-of-15 field goals in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and he wasn’t any better against Detroit. He even missed two free throws that could have put the game away with 17.2 seconds remining and then Cade Cunningham tied the game with a layup over Banchero with 12 seconds remaining.

Here’s the full ending of the game, which includes Cunningham nearly tying the game on 3/4 court shot at the buzzer.

With that shot, Banchero is now 9-of-32 from the field post-All-Star, but the Magic have won three games in a row and are tied with the Pacers for the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

With 27 games remaining, they’ve already matched their win total from last season, are on pace for their highest win total since the Dwight Howard era, and are headed back to the postseason for the first time since The Bubble. So if anyone is feeling emotional, it’s understandable.