After moving on to the second round and awaiting the winner of the New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons matchup, Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum was impressed in their opening series matchup. Defeating the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round, Tatum squared off against fellow Duke alum Paolo Banchero, the unquestioned star on the Magic, and said following the series victory that he was highly impressed with the former Blue Devil.

In a series in which he scored at least 29 points in four of the five games, Banchero would finish it out averaging 29.4 points per game, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, while also being a menace on the defensive end. As Banchero gets more learning experience in the playoffs while Tatum and the Celtics prepare for the second round, the Boston Celtics superstar was highly complimentary of the young Orlando star. Revealing that he did not speak to Banchero during their series, Tatum said he spoke to him in the tunnel following the Game 5 victory.

“I got to talk to him a little bit in the hallway after the game, I didn’t say two words to him during the series,” Tatum said after closing out the first round over Orlando. “That’s tough but it’s part of competing, trying to have that edge throughout the series. I couldn’t be happier for him and the player that he’s become, from Duke and then year after year with Orlando. He was unbelievable this series, he made it tough on us, he’s a matchup nightmare, and he’s only going to continue to get better and better. I’m certain we’ll have many more battles in the upcoming years.”

If Tatum’s words mean anything, Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic are just getting started on their playoff journey, and should be considered an upcoming team to watch in the seasons moving forward. For now it’ll be Tatum and the Celtics moving on to the second round as they look to also repeat as NBA world champions this year.

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jayson Tatum had high praise for Paolo Banchero after Round 1 series