Paolo Napoleon James Banchero is an Italian-American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association.
He was born on November 12, 2002, in Seattle, Washington to Mario Banchero and Rhonda Banchero.
Paolo Banchero played college basketball for the Duke University-Duke Blue Devils.
On April 20, 2022, Banchero declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
He was selected with the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.
In 2022, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and a member of the All-ACC first team.
Paolo Banchero Dad: Who Is Mario Banchero?
Mario Banchero is well known as the dad of Paolo Banchero.
Mario Banchero is an Italian businessman and former footballer.
He played college football for Washington. Although he didn’t make it to the professional league, he had a fair share of experience in the game.
After graduating, Mario Banchero went into business.
Mario Banchero’s great grandparents immigrated from Northern Italy to the United States in the early 1900s.
They established themselves as farmers and coal miners in Black Diamond. After many years of living in the U.S., Mario’s grandfather didn’t naturalize in the U.S., thus, his lineage qualifies for Italian citizenship, which they got in 2020.
Mario is currently the president of Mondo & Sons, a fourth-generation butcher company based in Seattle. It focused on locally sourced and sustainably raised proteins.
He is married to Rhonda Banchero and together they share three children. Rhonda played college basketball at Washington and is still the all-time scoring leader for the women’s program. She was drafted in the third round of the 2000 WNBA draft and played six seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs.
Following her retirement, she became a basketball coach at Holy Names Academy in Seattle. Her contributions to the Washington basketball team were rewarded by inducting her into the Husky Hall of Fame in 2004.