Paolo Banchero American Basketball Player Born in 2002

Early life

Paolo Napoleon James Banchero was born on 12 November 2002 in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in the city's Mount Baker neighborhood. His mother, Rhonda Banchero, played college basketball at the University of Washington and left as the program's career scoring leader. She was chosen in the third round of the 2000 WNBA draft, played in the American Basketball League and overseas, and later coached at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, where she introduced her son to the sport. His father, Mario, and an uncle played college football at Washington. He is of African-American descent through his mother and Italian descent through his father, and he received Italian citizenship in February 2020.

As a child he played basketball and football and ran track. He grew from 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 5 inches in the seventh grade, and by the eighth grade he was ranked among the top 50 players in the country in both basketball and football.

At O'Dea High School in Seattle he began as the backup quarterback on a state championship football team. In basketball he averaged 14.1 points and 10.2 rebounds as a freshman and 18.2 points and 10.3 rebounds as a sophomore, when O'Dea won the Class 3A state title and he was named most valuable player. In his junior year he averaged 22.6 points and 11 rebounds for the Class 3A runners-up and was named Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Junior of the Year. He played in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic. Rated a consensus five-star recruit in the 2021 class, he committed to Duke on 20 August 2020, although many analysts had expected him to choose Washington.

Career

Banchero played one season at Duke in 2021 and 2022. He scored 22 points in his debut, a win over Kentucky. He earned first-team All-ACC honors and was named the conference's Rookie of the Year, and he was a third-team All-American. Over the season he averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He declared for the NBA draft on 20 April 2022.

The Orlando Magic selected him with the first overall pick in the 2022 draft, a choice that surprised observers who had expected the team to take Jabari Smith Jr. In his regular-season debut on 19 October 2022 he scored 27 points with nine rebounds and five assists against the Detroit Pistons, making him the first player since LeBron James to reach at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a debut. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year and chosen for the All-Rookie Team.

In the 2023-24 season he recorded his first career triple-double on 6 January 2024 against Denver, with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He was named to the Eastern Conference team for his first All-Star Game on 1 February 2024. Orlando reached the playoffs, and in the first round against Cleveland he scored a playoff-high 39 points in Game 5 and 38 points with 16 rebounds in Game 7, though the Magic lost the series in seven games.

In the 2024-25 season opener he scored 33 points with 11 rebounds against Miami, and on 28 October 2024 he set a career high of 50 points against Indiana, becoming the fourth player in Magic history to score 50 in a game. He tore an oblique muscle two days later and returned on 10 January 2025 with 34 points against Milwaukee. On 7 July 2025 he signed a five-year, 239 million dollar contract extension with the Magic. In the first round of the 2026 playoffs he scored a career-high 45 points in Game 5 against Detroit and 38 in Game 7, but Orlando was eliminated.

Recognition

Banchero was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 2022 and NBA Rookie of the Year in 2023.

Public roles

Banchero was eligible to represent Italy and was selected for its squad for EuroBasket 2022 qualifying games in November 2020, but he did not play. In June 2023 he chose to play for the United States at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, saying his mother had played for the American national team and that it had always been his dream. The president of the Italian Basketball Federation, Gianni Petrucci, called the decision a betrayal. In November 2025 he joined the ownership group of the Seattle Seawolves, and he also holds a stake in AC Milan.

Personal life

His cousin Chris Banchero is a professional basketball player in the Philippines, and his brother Giulio signed to play college football at Eastern Washington beginning in 2026.