Road to Duke
There was a photograph hanging in the basement of the Banchero family home in Seattle. A USA Basketball team photo from the 1990s. One of the players was Paolo’s mother. His bedroom was in the basement. He saw it every day. ‘That was literally one of my biggest dreams as a kid, to play for USA.’
Paolo Banchero was born November 12, 2002, in Seattle. His mother, Rhonda Smith-Banchero, played college basketball at Washington, where she left as the all-time leading scorer with 2,948 points. She was the first Washington player drafted by the WNBA (3rd round, Sacramento Monarchs, 2000). Played professionally in the ABL and overseas. Husky Hall of Fame 2004. Became the basketball coach at Holy Names Academy in Seattle.
His father, Mario, played tight end at Washington. Mario’s Italian ancestors immigrated from northern Italy in the early 1900s and settled in Black Diamond, Washington — a small mining town in the Cascade foothills — working as farmers and coal miners. Rhonda and Mario met at Washington, married July 31, 1999. Three children: Paolo, daughter Mia (soccer player), youngest son Giulio (signed for Eastern Washington football). With a father named Mario, an uncle named Angelo, and a brother named Giulio: ‘I like having a unique name. When you think of Paolo, you think of me.’
Rhonda made him practice with the girls’ team at Holy Names to keep him humble. ‘She’s always been the one to humble me. Never too high, never too low.’ He never saw her play — she’d retired three years before he was born — but watched enough tape to recognize her game in his own. They watched WNBA games together.
In February 2020, he received Italian citizenship. Italy offered him a spot on their senior national team before college. He’d been cut from USA Basketball youth teams, which left him frustrated. But the photo in the basement kept pulling him back. He visited Italy for the first time in 2023: ‘You know how you get butterflies? It was like that. I was so proud.’
At O’Dea High School (his father’s school): backup QB on the state championship football team as a freshman; led basketball to the 3A state title as a sophomore. Washington Gatorade POY. Most expected him to stay home at Washington. Instead he committed to Duke, 2,341 miles away.
At Duke
Banchero arrived for Coach K’s final season, 2021–22 — the farewell tour. He was its centerpiece. College debut: 22 points vs Kentucky. Then 28 vs The Citadel, 21 vs Gonzaga, 23 vs Virginia Tech. Averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.2 APG. ACC Freshman of the Year. Third-Team All-American. Physical, skilled, poised — a 6-10 forward with point-guard passing and a scorer’s mentality.
Duke went 32–7 and reached the Final Four. The semifinal against North Carolina — Duke’s greatest rival — was supposed to be the storybook ending for Krzyzewski. It wasn’t. Carolina won 81–77. Banchero had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his final college game. Coach K’s career ended one round short of the championship.
After Duke
Draft night, June 23, 2022: every mock predicted the Magic would take Jabari Smith Jr. Instead they called Banchero’s name. The surprise was visible on his face. He made doubters look foolish immediately: 27 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists in his debut vs Detroit — the first player since LeBron to post 25/5/5 in an NBA debut. Scored 20+ forty times as a rookie. NBA Rookie of the Year 2022–23 — the first Magic player to win since Shaquille O’Neal in 1993.
Summer 2023: chose the USA photo over the Italian passport. Represented Team USA at the FIBA World Cup. Led the team with 21 points in 19 minutes vs New Zealand. Americans lost to Germany in the semifinals by two points.
By his second season: All-Star. By his third: the franchise. The Magic built around him alongside Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Averaged 28+ early in 2024–25 before an oblique injury. Everything in Orlando runs through Paolo.
Where Is He Now
Paolo Banchero is 22. Franchise player of the Orlando Magic. In November 2025, he joined the ownership group of the Seattle Seawolves rugby team — a hometown investment. He also holds a stake in AC Milan, bridging his two identities across an ocean. He carries an Italian passport and wears the American flag. He told his father Italy needs to be a regular family trip.
Rhonda still coaches girls’ basketball at Holy Names Academy and works at a nonprofit serving homeless people. Mario has served on Seattle district councils. Mia plays soccer. Giulio signed for Eastern Washington football. The Banchero family is what happens when Italian immigrants who mined coal in Black Diamond marry into a lineage of African American athletes from Franklin High School — and their children grow up bilingual in competition, humble enough to practice with the girls’ team and proud enough to carry two passports.
He was born in Seattle. His mother was the greatest scorer in Huskies women’s history. His great-grandparents dug coal out of the Cascades. He was three feet tall at fifteen months. His mother made him practice with the girls’ team. He got Italian citizenship at seventeen and almost played for Italy because USA Basketball had cut him. But there was a photograph in the basement where he slept, and it became the biggest dream of his childhood.
He chose Duke because Coach K was the greatest. He was the centerpiece of Krzyzewski’s final season. Lost to Carolina in the Final Four. Surprise #1 pick. Scored 27/9/5 in his debut. Rookie of the Year. Chose the red, white, and blue over the green, white, and red because of a photograph in a basement. He is 22 years old and he is the future of the Orlando Magic — the kid with two countries, two passports, two parents who played Division I sports at the same university, and one photograph that told him exactly who he was going to become.