Paolo Banchero

Paolo Napoleon James Banchero (, ; born November 12, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. Banchero was named the Rookie of the Year of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2022. Following his freshman season, he declared for the 2022 NBA draft, where he was selected with the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic. Banchero was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2023.

Early life
Banchero reached a height of 3 ft at 15 months of age. In his childhood, he played basketball and American football and took part in track. He grew up playing basketball at Rotary Boys and Girls Club of Seattle, as well as EBC Camps most notably the Ballislife Jr. All-American Camp, drawing inspiration from his mother, who played professionally. In seventh grade, Banchero grew from 6ft 1in to 6ft 5in. He was ranked among the top 50 eighth-graders nationally in both basketball and football.

High school career
In his first year at O'Dea High School in Seattle, Banchero played football, as the backup quarterback on the state championship team, as well as basketball. As a freshman on the basketball team, he averaged 14.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. In his sophomore season, Banchero averaged 18.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, leading O'Dea to the Class 3A state championship, where he was named most valuable player. As a junior, he averaged 22.6 points, 11 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per game for the Class 3A runners-up, earning Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Junior of the Year honors. Banchero was named to the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic rosters.

Recruiting
Banchero was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2021 class. Although he received offers from top NCAA Division I programs, including Duke and Kentucky, most recruiting analysts predicted that he would commit to Washington. Despite the predictions, on August 20, 2020, Banchero committed to playing college basketball for Duke.

College career
In his college debut, a 79–71 win against Kentucky, Banchero scored 22 points. On November 15, Banchero earned his first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Week honor. On November 23, 2021, Banchero scored 28 points and 8 rebounds in a 107–81 victory against the Citadel. On November 27, 2021, Banchero scored 21 points and 5 rebounds in a 84-81 win against Gonzaga. On November 29, 2021, Banchero was named ACC freshman of the week for the second time. On December 23, 2021, Banchero put up 23 points in a 76-65 victory over Virginia Tech. On January 12, 2022, Banchero scored 24 points and 5 rebounds in a 76-64 victory against Wake Forest. On January 15, 2022, Banchero tallied 21 points and 8 rebounds in a 88-73 win over NC State. On January 17, 2022, Banchero earned ACC Freshman of the week honors. On February 12, 2022, Banchero scored 16 points and 14 rebounds in a 72-61 win against Boston College. He was named first-team All-ACC as well as ACC Rookie of the Year. On March 15, 2022, Banchero was named a Third Team All-American. During the 2022 NCAA tournament, Banchero performed well, including scoring 22 points against Texas Tech. As a freshman, he averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. On April 20, 2022, Banchero declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

2022–2023: Rookie of the Year
Banchero was selected with the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2022 NBA draft. During the draft at that time, it was a surprising selection as the Magic originally had planned to take Jabari Smith Jr. with their pick. He made his 2022 NBA Summer League debut on July 7 against the Houston Rockets with 17 points, four rebounds and six assists in a 91–77 win. On October 3, 2022, Banchero made his preseason debut, putting up eight points, two rebounds and one assist in a 109–97 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. On October 19, Banchero made his regular-season debut, putting up 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a 113–109 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Banchero also became the first player since LeBron James to put up at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in an NBA debut. On November 5, Banchero put up 33 points and 16 rebounds in a 126–123 loss to the Sacramento Kings. He also became the second teenager in NBA history to put up at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining LeBron James. At the season's end, Banchero was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors.

2023–2024: First All-Star and playoff appearance
On November 2, 2023, Banchero put up 30 points alongside a game-winning layup in a 115–113 win over the Utah Jazz. On November 4, Banchero recorded a 25-point and 10-assist double-double while adding seven rebounds and leading the Magic to a 120–101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On November 15, Banchero posted 17 points, nine rebounds, and made a game-winner in a 96–94 win over the Chicago Bulls. On December 6, Banchero put up a then career-high 42 points in a 121–111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On January 3, 2024, Banchero scored a career-high 43 points in a 138–135 double overtime loss against the Sacramento Kings. On January 6, Banchero recorded his first career triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals in a 122–120 win over the Denver Nuggets. On February 1, 2024, Banchero was named to his first career All-Star Game as an Eastern Conference reserve. On February 24, Banchero put up 15 points alongside a game-winning jumpshot in a 112–109 win over the Detroit Pistons.

On April 20, Banchero played in his first career postseason game, recording 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, however committing nine turnovers in a 97–83 loss in Game 1 of the First Round to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Trailing 2–0 heading into Game 3, Banchero led Orlando to a 121–83 dominant victory over Cleveland behind his 31-point, 14-rebound performance. In Game 5, Banchero scored a playoff career-high 39 points, along with eight rebounds and four assists in a 104–103 narrow loss to the Cavaliers. Orlando would go on to lose to Cleveland in seven games despite Banchero's 38-point and playoff career-high 16-rebound outing in the 106–94 close-out loss in Game 7.

National team career
Banchero was eligible to play for the Italy national team and indicated his willingness to represent Italy in international competitions. He was selected to their 24-man squad for the EuroBasket 2022 qualification games in November 2020; however, he did not play. In June 2023, Banchero opted to play for the 2023 U.S. national team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. He said that his mother had played for Team USA, so it was always his dream. Gianni Petrucci, president of the Italian Basketball Federation, described Banchero's decision as "betrayal."

Personal life
Banchero's mother, Rhonda (née Smith), played college basketball for Washington, leaving as the program's all-time scoring leader. She was a third-round selection in the 2000 WNBA draft and played professionally in the American Basketball League and overseas, before becoming a basketball coach at Holy Names Academy in Seattle. Banchero's father, Mario, and his uncle played college football for Washington. His parents met while attending the University of Washington.

Banchero is of African-American descent on his mother’s side and of Italian descent on his father's side. In February 2020, he received Italian citizenship because of his paternal ancestry.

Banchero's paternal cousin, Chris Banchero, is also a professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association, playing for the Meralco Bolts. They both won championships at O'Dea High School.

On the morning of November 14, 2021, Banchero was charged with aiding and abetting DUI after Duke teammate Michael Savarino, grandson of coach Mike Krzyzewski, was arrested on DUI charges. On July 29, 2022, the charges against Banchero were dropped after Savarino pled guilty to DUI.

On May 8, 2022, Banchero attended the inaugural Miami Grand Prix in Miami Gardens where he was mistakenly interviewed by Sky Sports announcer Martin Brundle believing he was Patrick Mahomes. The gaffe was caught on live television.

Banchero has a rare condition that enables him to lose 7 pounds of sweat each game, which leads him to experience cramps and stunt his in-game performance.