Paolo Banchero Is Basketball’s Next Style Icon

Paolo Banchero’s first fashion icon was his grandmother, Sheila. “She was the first person I ever saw with a walk-in closet,” says the six-foot-10 NBA star and first-overall draft pick, beaming. “Leopard prints, reds, purples—she was always fly. Colour-coordinated church fits. I admired that.”

Banchero, one of the league’s brightest young stars now tasked with reinserting the Orlando Magic onto the map, is channelling his fashionable roots into P5: his own personal logo under the Jordan brand umbrella.

Named after his initial and his jersey number, P5 is an opportunity for Banchero to tell his own story. “Jordan is the greatest of all time,” he says. The company, a subsidiary of Nike centred on Michael Jordan’s legacy, sponsors other NBA standouts such as Luka Dončić and Zion Williamson. Banchero’s collaborations with Jordan also include a unisex shoe—in recognition of his respect for women’s ball and the WNBA.

He’s already released a Sheila-themed player exclusive: red and purple with leopard accents. And in his rookie year, he rocked a Valentino leopard-print button-up to a game. His grandma texted to tell him how much she loved it. “You’ll definitely see more prints in the P5 line to honour her.”

His tunnel walks are now low-key-style showcases, rooted more in self-expression than flash—and always with a nod to family. He considers fashion just another way to connect—part of his broader vision to inspire by being himself. It’s not about trying to stand out for its own sake, he says. It’s about feeling good. “I know I could just put it together real quick and make it look dope.”

For now, he is a player first and a brand second; he’s focused primarily on tightening his game—one that’s as versatile as his wardrobe. In just three seasons, he has become Orlando’s franchise player—in other words, the linchpin: a rangy playmaker who can create off the dribble, punish mismatches and stretch the floor. He earned Rookie of the Year honours in 2023 after averaging 20 points per game. He also became the youngest player to score 30 and rebound for 15, after LeBron James. In his second season, he was an All-Star. Still, he says, there’s always more to prove.

In his one year at Duke University, under the legendary Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski, Banchero quickly learned that being the best player on the court wasn’t enough. “Coach K didn’t care how many points I scored,” reflects the 22-year-old, who is seated comfortably in his Seattle, Wash., home, fresh from a morning workout with his longtime friends. “He knew I could play; he wanted to know if I could lead.”

Banchero was 18, quiet, confident and so reserved that onlookers could have confused it as listless; Krzyzewski wanted fire. So, he called Banchero’s mother (herself a former athlete) to find out how to get through to him. “My mom had the perfect answer: ‘If you want to fire him up, piss him off—kick him out of practice,’” Banchero recalls. Krzyzewski did more than that—he ordered the entire team out of the gym.

The moment stung—and stuck. “It taught me that to be great, I had to speak up, hold people accountable,” he says. “If I wanted to be like LeBron, Kobe, Dwyane Wade or Kevin Durant, I had to lead like them, too.”

Today, entering his fourth NBA season, and with a brawny game that’s primed to soon make the power forward one of the most marketable athletes in the world, Banchero is finding that voice. “I haven’t mastered it yet,” he says. “But I’m a lot more vocal now. I realize that my words carry weight.”

But at home, Banchero still moves quietly. He stays in Seattle, where he was born and raised, during the off-season, spending the majority of his days with two best friends he’s known since middle school. They wake up, hit the gym, rebound for him and then chill. The days are simple. The circle is tight. “It’s the same as it’s always been,” he says. “We hang out, play video games, go eat.” In those moments, not much has changed.

“He now roams his stomping ground with a contract that will reportedly see him take home US$239 million in the next five years.”

One thing has changed: He now roams his stomping ground with a contract that will reportedly see him take home US$239 million in the next five years. But his upbringing wasn’t lavish. His parents, both former athletes, instilled discipline through competition. “Everything was a challenge,” he recalls. “Chores, school work, basketball—my mom was especially tough.”

His mother, Rhonda Smith-Banchero, was a star at the University of Washington and a WNBA player. She coached Paolo in basketball, while his dad, Mario, coached him in football. “Mom was louder, more animated—it was tough love,” he recalls. “Dad was our offensive coordinator, a great teacher. But they both pushed me.”

The love of basketball runs deep. “I’m a basketball junkie—always have been,” he says. “I observe. I absorb. I just see things and file them away in my brain.”

Banchero is an old soul trapped inside a Vitruvian body, an athlete from a lost generation, too engrossed with learning the game to boast about it or to do as much as post workout highlights on his Instagram story. His online presence is not as angsty as NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s, as whimsical as Joel Embiid’s or as intense as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s.

“I’m a basketball junkie—always have been,” he says. “I observe. I absorb. I just see things and file them away in my brain.”

And yet, he has eclipsed a million followers on the platform and is quickly becoming one of Jordan’s main faces; last year, Jordan organized a trip to Shanghai and Beijing with Banchero and a few other players in order to inspire children from around the world to take up basketball.

Articulating one’s own brand is a hard thing to do, and Banchero struggles to encapsulate it without mentioning other people. P5 does not exist in a vacuum. “I wouldn’t be here without guys like [former] Jamal Crawford helping me out when I was a kid,” he says. “So I try to be that guy for the next generation.”

To that end, Banchero has already immersed himself in youth programs, attending high-school and college games, running clinics and staying accessible. “It’s only a few of us who really do that,” he says, naming names like fellow NBA top players Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics. “They’ve been real ones for the next generation. I want to be that, too.”

He sees it as a loop: his meteoric rise from athletic teenager to basketball superstardom helping their own journeys and their energy fuelling his. “I want them to see that logo and think: ‘Paolo’s around. He shows up. He gives advice. He plays hard. That’s who I want to be.’”

Banchero calls his style organic; at just 22, he feels like his wardrobe has evolved greatly since his teens. The early days were all about H&M, Nordstrom and grabbing what he could afford and making it look good. Then came the rookie-year fits: skinny Amiri jeans and designer shoes. “Now I look back like, ‘What was I thinking?’” he laughs.

Today, it’s all about comfort and layering. His signature fit is as unassuming as his presence.  “Some flowy flare sweats, a cropped zip-up hoodie and a long tee underneath with a cool design,” he says. “That’s the go-to. I can throw it on in five minutes and look good.” And that’s important, given that all eyes are on him and because Banchero’s new contract will be competitive with today’s top players. That immediately opened conversations about whether or not he deserves the richest contract in Magic history.

Banchero has embraced the responsibility that comes with stardom. “I want to be the guy who shows up when it matters,” he says. “Not just on the court but everywhere.”

And if you’re lucky enough to catch him walking into a game in a cropped hoodie and leopard-print tee, know that you’re not just seeing a fit. You’re seeing a story — one that is still being written, in his voice, every day.

Photography, Tyler Patrick Kenny. Styling, Ashley Galang. Creative direction, George Antonopoulos. Grooming, Samantha Bentson for Exclusive Artists/Charlotte Tilbury. Photo assistant, Kira Tucker. Gear, Ahmed Mouhamed.