How Paolo Banchero's Love For Basketball Could Cement His Stardom

ORLANDO, Fla. – There are few feelings like picking up a basketball, stepping onto a court, and shooting hoops just for the fun of it.

We can all relate to that time in your life when nothing else mattered but you, the ball, and the hoop; an escape from reality to experiment, tinker, and improve your game, while having a blast doing it.

That's the type of upbringing Paolo Banchero saw, growing up around the sport with a basketball legend coaching him up from an early age in his mother, Rhonda Smith-Banchero, an All-American hooper with the Washington Huskies who broke the schools' all-time scoring record.

She was such an elite rebounder, she actually set the playoff record for rebounds in a game at the high school level in the state of Washington, where she won Gatorade Player of the Year. In college, she racked up the third-most rebounds in school history by the time she left.

His mother was such a big influence on Banchero's basketball upbringing that he credits her for how he fell in love with the game, describing his mom as his ultimate inspiration in a profile with Team USA, "I wanted to be like her. Knowing all the success she had, it inspired me from a young age."

How Paolo Banchero Fell in Love With Basketball

At Orlando Magic Media Day 2026 in a question from Jennifer Portee of @LetsTalkMenInBasketball, Banchero described how he first fell in love with the game of basketball:

First time I fell in love with the game of basketball? Probably watching my Mom coach when I was a kid.

Being at the gym with her at her practices, watching her teams run sprints, watching them struggle, I think made me fall in love with the game. For some reason, I just like doing the hard stuff.

I used to play scout team for my moms teams. So I would be out there as a kid running around playing scout team. I think those days definitely made me fall in love, the daily grind of watching my moms teams practice.

Paolo Banchero

A few days later at Orlando Magic Training Camp, I asked Banchero about his midrange jump shot:

Where did his love for the midrange come from?
How did it become such a foundational piece of his game?
How was he feeling about it headed into this upcoming 2026-27 NBA season?

Banchero described the midrange as one of the first areas on the basketball court that made him feel comfortable when playing the game to score and create as a kid:

Honestly, when I was a kid, I did not shoot a ton of threes.

I was a lot more comfortable just at the elbow, free throw line jump shots, short corner.

So I would say it started then, just at a young age.

Paolo Banchero

On how his midrange jumper feels headed into the season, Banchero shared that he's always trying to improve; not just the jump shot itself, but the decision-making of when and where to take them.

Obviously, in the NBA, I have tried to get better at it; still trying to get better at it.

I think it is moreso taking the right ones, and trying to get deep into the paint and take those.

You don’t want to take the longer twos — you want to try to get into that short corner, elbow, paint kill spot, and then shoot it if it is there. If that is what the defense is giving you, then you gotta be able to take it and make it.

Paolo Banchero

Not to mention, Banchero listed Carmelo Anthony before as one of his favorite NBA players to watch growing up, where the comparisons are clear in one area specifically – the midrange moves.

There are simply not many basketball players in the history of the game with the combination of size, skill, strength, and explosiveness that Banchero (6'10", 250lb) and Anthony (6'7", 230lb) bring to the table.

One description that applies to both is that, at their best, both are practically mismatch proof – able to speed against wings and bullyball opposing bigs, which isn't supposed to happen. When that jump shot is falling, it's truly a pick-your-poison situation for any one-on-one defender; either one can shoot over you, drive past you, or dunk on you.

One could argue Banchero has already surpassed Anthony as a proven passer, where Paolo also leverages that scoring gravity into open looks for the team on 3pt kickouts or dunker spot dumpoffs; but, Banchero has a long way to go to reach the scoring superpowers that Melo reached, and that road starts with better overall scoring efficiency, one way or another.

Graduating from NBA All-Star to NBA Superstar is easier said than done, but there's a real path to Banchero doing so and even earning MVP votes as soon as this season, if a few things fall his way.

Sean Sweeney motivating this group to new heights with a more intense focus on precise spacing while revitalizing the turnover-forcing defensive culture is one; Banchero and his teammates staying healthy long enough to bring the vision to reality is another; while the face of the franchise's individual play being tweaked into a more efficient format is arguably just as important as any.

The goal for the end result is clear; for Banchero to take the high volume of Midrange jump shots that superstar tough shotmakers take, he needs to at least reach roughly 0.85-0.90 Points Per Possession in the midrange, with the ideal mark set by Durant and Kawhi at 1.0 PPP, where middies become worth their weight in gold, as efficient as a free throw, the best shot in basketball.

Getting Closer, and More Efficient

Another path to more efficiency is simply taking more shots directly at the rim; Banchero is a near-unstoppable force when rolling to the rim, able to rise up, power slam, kick out, dump off, or draw the foul on the way to the rack with ease.

Using Banchero as a roller is a great idea for consistent team offense and for him individually to rack up as many shots at the rim and the free throw line as possible. But, deterring the midrange entirely out of a fringe seven-footer walking mismatch who prides himself on his jump shot is doing his potential upside a disservice.

Banchero's biggest critics will point out things like pace of play, decision making, shot selection; but these are things he can improve over time with reps, adjustment, and better understanding as the game slows down. Early preseason play results are promising that Banchero has returned to his most mobile, agile, explosive self, speeding up everything in his process while making team-first decisions.

For Banchero to reach the best version of his game, getting rid of the midrange entirely isn't the answer; that would be like asking Spider Man to put down the spider webs because they're too sticky; that's kind of the whole point. The midrange, like Spidey's webs, can be a strength, even a super power, when utilized in the right moments, especially on nights where the shot is falling.

There's few things as electric for Magic fans as watching Orlando play in a tight game, up by a handful of points in clutch time, as Banchero hunts his kill shot – the baseline turnaround fade. It's unblockable, it's unstoppable, and when it hits nylon in clutch time, it's undeniably awesome.

With Banchero telling me he's focused on taking better midrange shots this season – the deep paint twos, the short corner twos, the elbow kill spots – the type of shots he's been knocking down in his sleep since he first fell in love with the game as a young kid, his refreshed outlook on shot selection this season seems to be in a much better place than before.

At its best, Orlando's halfcourt offense is better because of Banchero's midrange capabilities, even if the jumper has stalled out in the past at times where he may have felt the need to lean on it too often, especially through injury-riddled games when he was one of few good options for team offense.

The evolution of Banchero's final form is most evident in playoff games, where Banchero goes Super Saiyan Shot Maker, consistently rising up to the challenge.

Banchero's box score averages jump up drastically in the games that matter most, averaging 27 PTS – 9 REB – 5 AST – 1 STL shooting 39% 3P% on 6 3PA, 46% 2P% on 14 2PA, and 70% FT% on 9 FTA.

His playoff rates feature pulling down 21% of his team's defensive rebounds and 13% of his team's total rebounds, while dishing out 27% of his team's assists to just 13% of his team's turnovers.

The Magic's path to contender-level playoff offense involves many factors, from Sweeney's pristine spacing concepts to internal development and role acceptance from the rest of the Magic roster.

But there's only one individual on this team that can create, take, and make a shot from scratch in one-on-one situations consistently when everything breaks down, whether it be out of isolation or if the post, and that's the tough shot-making 6'10" power forward out of Seattle, Washington.

While this Magic offense will likely work best as a whole over the aggregate by running in transition and calling halfcourt sets that utilize Banchero as a roller, where his game is unlocked and the floor is well-space for everyone, that shouldn't mean taking away something that makes Banchero's game special, something that can actually come in handy come playoff time, where plans get thrown out the window.

When that shot is falling, there aren't many comparable players in the world in terms of the complete skill-set that Banchero brings, making him the unique #1 pick talent that Orlando is dead right to be dead set on building around for the foreseeable future.

Now, it's up to Banchero to find his ideal mix of shot selection, shot location, and shooting efficiency; let's give him and this Orlando Magic team one remotely healthy season together before anyone writes off a player who can still be one of the greatest rebounding tough shotmaking scorers to ever play the sport, just like those who inspired his game.