When Paolo Banchero was selected by the Orlando Magic with the first-overall pick at the 2022 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, many didn't see it coming.

Neither did the 19-year-old from Duke University until his agent Mike Miller leaned over to tell him "congratulations" some 30 seconds before NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the Magic's decision on the stage, according to the Associated Press.

"It all happened pretty fast," Banchero said. He arrived in Orlando on Friday and will attend the team's workout next week before appearing in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in early July.

This was the fourth time the Magic received the first-overall draft pick. The first time they selected Shaquille O'Neal in 1992. One year later, with the first pick again, the team selected Chris Webber but then traded him for Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway with the Golden State Warriors. O'Neal and Hardaway led the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once before O'Neal departed to join the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 and Hardaway's career was ruined by injuries.

In 2004 summer, the Magic drafted Dwight Howard with the first pick and watched him grow to become the best defender of the league as he won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards in a row between 2009 and 2011. In a franchise filled with 3-point shooters, Howard helped the team reach the Finals in 2009. In his best form, Howard was considered to be a legit asset to be traded for LeBron James by himself.

The performances of the above former top draft selections will definitely place a lot of expectations as well as pressure on Banchero, who says he knows what's awaiting him.

"There's going to be high expectations for myself that I'm going to hold myself to and that everyone is going to hold myself to," he said. "But I feel like it's nothing I'm not used to. It was the same thing for me heading into college, throughout high school, a lot of expectations. It's been like that my whole life."

Though it's a relatively surprising decision by the Magic to draft Banchero, the team took their time and considered every possible option, including trading the pick, before making up their mind with Banchero.

"There's things that you're grabbing from each one that you're like, 'Oh, man, wow, that can be great for us'," Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. "But then it ultimately comes down to, 'How does that fit for us? How do we jell with them in the locker room? How are they treating people when they're walking in?' Because all those pieces play a factor. And I think we've done an incredible job with those details."

"There are just so many things that go into this," Magic president Jeff Weltman said. "It's talent, it's fit, it's character, it's the projection where the league is going. There's so many things that factor into a conversation like this that you can literally go on for months more arguing it. And that's kind of like what makes it fun, right? I mean, it's been a fun process."

Banchero has averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists for Duke in the last season. He is not as good as Chet Holmgren in defense or as sharp as Jabari Smith Jr in 3-point shooting, but Banchero has more complete skills than the other two and can offer better instant help to the team.

Miller was drafted by the Magic with the fifth pick in 2000 and was named Rookie of the Year in his first season in the NBA. He wanted to help Banchero win that honor too.

"It was a great job of them doing the due diligence and keeping it quiet," Miller said. "But they trusted in what they saw in him and what we were talking about as far as his basketball abilities – not only where he's at now, but where he's going to be. And there's not, I'll be honest, there's not many Paolo Bancheros walking through a lot of doors. He's just a special, special kid and a special basketball player."

Banchero will have to compete with Holmgren and Smith Jr among other promising youngsters for that honor. Both he and his rookie teammate Caleb Houstan intend to play in the Summer League. Their first opponent will be Smith Jr and the Houston Rockets.