Dalano Banton was selected by the Toronto Raptors 46th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Banton spent two seasons with the Raptors but never got much playing time to prove himself.
He was mostly used as an end of the bench guy and wasn’t featured in the rotation.
Banton was an unrestricted free agent this past summer after the Raptors declined to offer the Rexdale guard a qualifying offer.
As a result the 6’8 guard signed a two year, $4.2 million deal with the Boston Celtics, suiting up in 24 games for them.
He was then traded by the Celtics before the trade deadline buzzer on Feb. 8 to the Portland Trail Blazers for a heavily protected second-round pick.
In 12 games with the Blazers, Banton is averaging 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 23.2 minutes per contest.
Banton is getting more of an opportunity on a Blazers team that is rebuilding and has had to deal with a handful of injuries.
Banton is coming off the best two-game stretch of his NBA career.
He first put up a career-high 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists against the Houston Rockets on March 8.
Then on the very next night against the team that drafted him, Banton had a successful revenge game against Toronto.
He had 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and hit the dagger three. It was one of his 5 made three-pointers in this game:
Dalano Banton follows up a 30-point game with 25 points against the team that drafted him including this dagger three.
Excited to see how his game grows. pic.twitter.com/HV51paWWCs
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) March 10, 2024
Banton making most out of his opportunity
Darko Rajakovic never got to coach Banton in Toronto. He spoke about playing against him in Portland pregame via Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton:
“He’s very talented young player. He didn’t get enough opportunity in Boston as well. So I’m happy for him that he’s getting more reps here and more opportunities to play.”
Banton’s game continues to grow and with the way he’s trending upwards, he certainly has a bright future ahead.
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