These 3 Rookies Exploding Out Of The Gate

Sometimes it takes rookies a bit of time to get acclimated to play in the NBA. Don't tell that to this year's class however. Three rookies have exploded out of the gate with incredible starts to their pro career. And we begin with the No. 1 overall pick, Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic.

Paolo Banchero's 1st 3 NBA games

27 PT, 9 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK, 61% FG
20 PTS, 12 REB, 3 BLK
23 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 3PTpic.twitter.com/dhofjhw3SD
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 23, 2022

Through his first three games, Banchero has averaged 23.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 blocks.

"Once he truly learns the NBA's in and outs, he's going to be scary," said another former No.1 overall pick, Blake Griffin, whose Boston Celtics faced Banchero Saturday night.

Also absolutely tearing it up out of the gate, No. 6 overall pick Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers.

Wow. Benedict Mathurin has 72 pts in his first 86 NBA min on 65.9 TS%—52.4% on 3s. He’s unstoppable slamming into a big’s chest, using his body as a shield, and scoring with touch. Makes Pull-ups from 27ft+ look easy, & he plays with competitive fire.

IND may have a star scorer pic.twitter.com/lWCqFh6bom
— NBA University (@NBA_University) October 23, 2022

After a blistering 27-point effort on Saturday, his 3-game averages are now 24 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting an incredible 52.4% from 3-point range—on volume (seven attempts per game). And he's joined some pretty incredible company:

Bennedict Mathurin is only the fifth NBA player since 1980 to score at least 72 points in his first three career games—and the first since 1995:

Isiah Thomas
Dominique Wilkins
Michael Jordan
Jerry Stackhouse
Bennedict Mathurin
— Zach Kram (@zachkram) October 23, 2022

The only other four players in the last 40+ years to score at least 72 points in their first three career games are Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas (the original), Dominique Wilkins, and Jerry Stackhouse. And it hadn't been done in 27 years.

The only question about Mathurin—How long can they keep him out of the starting lineup?!

Picked just ahead of Mathurin, at No. 5 overall, was Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons. In a head-to-head with Mathurin Saturday night, Ivey went 17-10-5.