Paolo Banchero diary: Every season you face adversity

PORTLAND, Ore. – Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was, in a way, playing his lone NBA home game of the season about 175 miles from his hometown of Seattle.

For the Jan. 30 game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Banchero purchased a suite at the Moda Center that included historical Blazers paraphernalia and pictures on the wall. The Portland game is Banchero’s homecoming contest, as it is the closest to Seattle.

While the Magic lost 119-90 to the Blazers, about 50 family members and friends, as well as kids from the AAU Seattle Rotary Style Basketball Program, made the trek from Washington to cheer for Banchero—including his parents, Mario and Rhonda, and his grandmother, Sheila Guy-Snowden.

“It’s different than any other game I play throughout the season,” said Banchero from the Jordan Brand building on Jan. 29. “The two times I’ve played here [previously], I’m able to look up in the crowd and literally see faces that people I know from way back or family, friends. I remember last year just looking up in the crowd and seeing people that I hadn’t seen in probably over five years coming back just to watch me play.

“Being able to experience that and feel that while playing on the NBA stage is crazy. And so, when you come back to Portland and I get to see all these familiar faces, it just kind of gives me a homecoming type of feeling and I always look forward to it. It’s always been fun.”

Guy-Snowden proudly wore a sequined outfit with her grandson’s No. 5 on it while watching his game against the Blazers. She recently spent time with him at his new mansion in Orlando cooking his favorite fried chicken meal.

Guy-Snowden has enjoyed seeing the journey of her grandson from a little boy to NBA star.

“I’ve been watching Paolo since he was 5 years old,” Guy-Snowden said. “Well, I’ve had him since he was a baby, but when he was 5 years old, he got a basketball. And he used to just shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. Go back and forth. His grandfather used to say to him, ‘One day you’re going to make the NBA.’ And when he made the NBA, he said, ‘I can remember Papa telling me that.’

“I said, ‘Wow, I don’t remember that. I don’t even remember the conversation.’ But he told me. So we’re proud. I’m very proud of him.”

During the 2024-25 NBA season, Banchero will share insight into his life with the Magic in his monthly diary on Andscape. Draymond Green, Vince Carter, Trae Young, CJ McCollum, Fred VanVleet, De’Aaron Fox, Cade Cunningham, James Wiseman, Josh Jackson and, most recently, Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal have also participated in diaries.

Below is Banchero’s fourth diary entry with interviews at the Jordan Brand Building at the Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, on Jan. 29, after a loss to the Blazers on Jan. 30 and after a 104-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 in San Francisco. As told to Andscape senior NBA writer Marc J. Spears, Banchero talks about his homecoming, not returning to the NBA All-Star Game this year, coming back sluggishly after his return from a lengthy injury, the Magic’s recent struggles, his All-Star weekend plans, his new Jordan Brand Heir Series Paolo Banchero Player Edition sneakers honoring his Seattle AAU program, his best Michael Jordan story, learning about the stunning Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, his mom’s success as a basketball star and coach and much more.

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You can always tell the difference when you step foot in the Pacific Northwest. The air is a little fresher, a little easier to breathe. Obviously, it’s not Seattle, but pretty close. Portland is a place that I’ve been to hundreds of times just over the course of growing up.

It’s a three-hour drive. Whenever people ask me, I always compare it to [a drive from] Orlando to Miami. Kind of the same exact distance. I came down here a lot growing up for basketball tournaments two or three times a year, sometimes four times a year, [I’d] come down here and play. So, it was something that I was really used to. I had some family friends that live out here as well, so I always was visiting them. I spent a lot of time over the course of my life in Portland.

Having my parents there is always a blessing. As I’ve gotten older and got into the NBA, I don’t take it for granted as much as I used to. Back when I was in high school and stuff, they would come to every game. But with me going to a city like Orlando, which is so far from home, they’re not able to come to every game and be there all the time. So, the times that they are able to make it, I always hold them a little closer to my heart and I always want to come out, play well put on a show for them and my other friends and family watching.

[Jordan Brand] showed me the Seattle Rotary Heir Series PE [on Jan. 29] and seeing it for the first time was awesome. It’s going to be released to the public so anyone will be able to go out and buy it. It’s just a crazy feeling having not only my logo on a shoe, but my AAU club, Seattle Rotary, them having their own PE under the Jordan Brand is crazy to think about because that’s where I grew up playing. That’s where a lot of my friends and peers grew up playing. And so, just for everyone to be able see the Rotary logo on this big of a stage or platform, the Jordan brand, it’s amazing.

Seattle Rotary means the world to me just because I basically was playing there from kindergarten till my junior year in high school. I never played for any other program. I spent days after school there just at the Boys & Girls Club. And obviously, [I] played basketball there all my life. So, I learned not only skills on the court but life skills. Being a [former] member of the Boys & Girls Club is also something I’m passionate about. It is a big community. I’m just one of the guys trying to push it forward [and] tell the story through the shoe and through Jordan Brand. But, there are not only just basketball players, but people as well that have strong connections to Seattle and Oregon.

I chose Jordan Brand really because of how exclusive of a family it is. I didn’t really understand before I signed. The summer before my rookie season, after I got drafted, I was trying to decide where I was going to sign shoe brand-wise. There were a couple of different options. I just remember getting a call from [Seattle native and former NBA star] Jamal Crawford. He’s like my big brother, and he was just like, ‘Yo, I’m calling you because Michael Jordan called my phone and he called about you.’ And he was like telling me Michael Jordan never called and he was just saying Jordan Brand would be the perfect place for me to be. It just fit me perfectly. Obviously, Michael Jordan is one of my favorite players. So when I got that message from Jamal that the Michael Jordan hit him up to ask about me and expressing that he wanted me to be with the brand, it was a pretty easy decision. I also have a close family friend who also is with the brand that I’m very close to. So, just an overall family environment that’s what I prioritize.

I met Michael Jordan one time at the College Football [Playoff] National Championship Game last year, Michigan versus Washington. He invited me to his suite. I was there with my parents in his suite. We all were supporting Washington. My parents [both former Washington athletes] were there, obviously. And then Michael Jordan had a suite because Michigan is a Jordan school. So, I walked down there and chopped it up the suite. He’s a cool dude, man. He’s legendary. You’re in his presence, for sure. He definitely has that aura about him. That’s Michael Jordan. You kind of stand up a little straighter. It was dope meeting him, though.

I wasn’t too nervous. Michael Jordan would be able to tell right away that you were nervous. So, I was cool. He asked me who I was rooting for. I was like, ‘I’m rooting for Washington, that’s my hometown.’ So he was like giving me some s— about that. He looked at somebody and was like, ‘Man, make sure this dude don’t get paid next week.’ He was a funny guy. He talked some trash, but he’s awesome. Being around them was cool.

We’re struggling right now. We’ve got different guys who’ve had to come back. First, it was me [from an abdominal injury]. And when I came back, the first five or six games a lot of other guys were hurt and not playing. Then those guys have started to come back. So it’s been just changes in lineups, changes in rotations, [and] stuff like that, which is easier said than done on the basketball court. I think it just takes time to adjust. Every season, you face adversity, whether it’s in the beginning, the middle, the end. You go through a rough stretch. We’re just going through our rough stretch right now, but we’re still in a good position to make a run and put ourselves in a good standing for the playoffs. So, no one has lost sight of that, and I think everyone has a pretty poised demeanor as far as the team goes and we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can.

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My mom played four years at the University of Washington. She finished there as the all-time league scorer, all-time league rebounder. And she was also the first women’s basketball player from the state of Washington to get drafted professionally. So, she had a pretty legendary career, played overseas, and she was also a coach for many years, pretty much my whole childhood up until I think 13 or 14 years old.

[My mom] molded me, honestly, into the player I am today, just from day one as a kid growing up with her in the gym [and] her coaching. I was with her through many, many years and different stops that she had coaching. And so, I kind of got to see her in that space, just how she was a coach, how she was a teacher to her players, [and] how she was a mentor on and off the court. So, looking back on it, those are days that I cherish. It was cool that my mom coached, but it also wasn’t easy, honestly. She was on my a— 24-7 about everything. So, she just made me so sharp as a person, as an athlete, my work ethic, she just kind of helped mold all that. And just even my mentality, how I go about my work, how I go about handling success and failure. She’s just kind of helped shape me in all those ways.

I’ll probably say the last time I felt like she really put her foot down was my sophomore year of high school going into my junior year. Let’s just say I got in some trouble over the summer. And so she basically told me, ‘Look, you’re about to get on a regimen, you’re going to get up at 5 a.m. every morning before school, go to the gym with your dad or me or whoever.’ And that was that. My whole junior year, I was getting up at 5 a.m. It’s on YouTube. That was because of my mom. That was not because I wanted to do that. That was because of my mom. And I enjoyed it. In some of those ways, she molded me, my work ethic and just how I approach the game.

I came to terms with [not being a 2025 NBA All-Star] when I was injured and that it was going to be tough to make the game. Once the rosters came out, I don’t think I was really upset. Actually, I was a little happy that I get to use my All-Star break this year. I can clear my mind and sharpen my brain up when I’m on the break and come back from the break ready to go.

I’m definitely going to go relax my mind, but I’m not going to just sit down and just chill. I’m going to try and work out, sharpen some things up and then go chill. But, just do a little something every day so that when I come back I hit the ground running.

I need to sharpen everything. My skill [and] decision-making. I need to stay in shape, get in some better shape, get my wind in elite shape, work on some finishing, some driving, obviously my free throws. Everything.

We were on the bus and just landed out here in San Francisco. And we were going to the hotel and one of my homies actually called me, and I didn’t answer because I was on the bus. And then he was just texting me, ‘Luka to the Lakers.’ I just looked at Twitter, saw it and was like, ‘No way…’ The whole bus started talking about it. Everybody started asking around and found out it was true.

What I learned was you got to stay on top of your game. It just shows you that nobody’s untouchable, and you just got to always be prepared for anything. Obviously, I don’t know the details of that situation. But it’s just surprising to see a player like him traded in the middle of the night.

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Every February, just recognizing what [Black History Month] is [is important] — honoring Black people, Black voices. There’s a lot of Black athletes in this league, Black faces of the league. Just recognizing that and how the league kept progressing in the right direction and me trying to be a part of that [is important].