It’s awesome to get to do something like this — Andscape

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero’s mind was playing tricks on him as he watched playoff basketball from his home Wednesday night.

Banchero contemplated getting some sleep in preparation for his next playoff game. Then, reality reminded the 2024 NBA All-Star that there were no more playoff games left for him and his Magic. The reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics won a first-round playoff series against the Magic after routing them 120-89 in Game 5 on April 29 to claim the series 4-1.

“It’s weird. I was just sitting watching the playoff games last night and I kept thinking that I got to get to bed because I got a game,” Banchero told Andscape on May 1 from the Magic’s practice facility. “That’s just where my mind is. I kept thinking, ‘I got to get to bed and drink my electrolytes to get ready for a game.’ And then I’m like, ‘We don’t really have a game. The season is really over.’

“It just sucks because this [is] the second [time] you’re going out in the first round. I remember after my rookie season not making the playoffs. And I remember watching the play-in [tournament] and the playoffs while I was on vacation and remember being like, ‘I never want my season to end this early ever again. This feels terrible just sitting here watching all this great basketball while I’m at home.’ So, that’s kind of how I feel now about the first round. I don’t want my season to keep ending this early in the start of May. I want to play through May into June [during the NBA Finals].”

In his third NBA campaign, Banchero averaged career highs of 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists. The Seattle native scored a career-high 50 points against the Indiana Pacers on October 30, 2024. The 6-foot-10, 250-pounder, however, also missed 34 games with a torn oblique injury, which ruined his chances of being named an All-Star again.

The injury-plagued Magic finished the regular season with a 41-41 record. Orlando earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs after defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament. The Magic were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

During the 2024-25 NBA season, Banchero opened himself up to the world by giving Andscape access to him behind the scenes from the Magic’s training facility, his mansion with an NBA regulation gym and lake access, at Disney World with his two best friends, on the road in Phoenix and at the Jordan Brand Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, through eight episodes. Draymond Green, Vince Carter, Trae Young, CJ McCollum, Fred VanVleet, De’Aaron Fox, Cade Cunningham, James Wiseman, Josh Jackson and Bradley Beal have participated in previous diaries.

The 22-year-old explained why he took part in the video and written diary this season with Andscape.

“I agreed to do this diary because I hadn’t done anything like this before,” Banchero said. “I am kind of giving people what I’m going through or where my mind’s at during the season, sort of a behind-the-scenes type of look. I just wanted to give my fans — fans of the team, fans to the NBA — kind of [a look] into who I am as a person, how I go about my business, my work. So, my off-the-court stuff, who my friends, my family are, introducing the worlds to them and giving everyone a better feel of the person I am and the player I am in a cool way through this diary. I just hope that everyone comes away kind of seeing how approach not only the game, but just life in general.

“I hope everyone learns. I’m gonna be able to go back and watch these episodes forever. One day I’m going to have kids and I’m going to show them, ‘This is what I was like when I was in my third season, 21, 22 years old. This is something that I can always have, you know, but archived and be able to look back on down the road. It’s awesome to get to do something like this.”

Below is Banchero’s eighth and final diary of the season, taking place at the Magic’s practice facility during the franchise’s season-ending media session on April 30. He talked about the good and bad of this Magic season, the pain of being eliminated by the Celtics, his pending six-year, $247 million contract extension, what he learned and will take going forward, his hopes for next season personally and team-wise, his offseason plans on and off the court, and much more.

Honestly, I didn’t realize it was over until maybe eight minutes [remaining] in the fourth [at Boston]. You always feel like you got a fighting chance to get back in the game, especially at the start of the fourth quarter. But once [the Celtics] went on that run, I knew it was going to be really tough. Once they start making 3’s how they were in the third quarter, it makes them hard to stop. It’s like you’re trying to play keep up and they’re counting by threes every time down the floor, and you’re trying to keep up with that amount of scoring. It’s hard. But you kind of realize it’s over when you look up, it’s only five minutes [left] and you’re down 25. That’s hard to come back from.

During a couple of the timeouts, I just took time to stare off into space. And was just contemplating and thinking about how this season went from start to finish and, honestly, how quickly it went by. It’s crazy that I’m sitting here in May saying, ‘My third year is over.’ It feels like I just got back to Orlando for training camp. The season just went by fast. For me getting injured, it kind of made it go faster, honestly, because those days when you’re hurt, you kind of are just floating through each and every day trying to get it over with. It’s just makes the time feel so much faster.

Every season has challenges, its good and bad stuff, ups and downs. This season, for me, was more challenging than any other season I can remember in my life. There was the [adductor] injury and then coming back and playing myself back in shape. All the while, I’m still trying to compete with my team and win games. We were going through a rough month of March, losing a lot of games, dropping into the standings. And then you are coming back during the All-Star break, finding a little bit of a rhythm, winning some games, clinching the postseason [berth] and going up against the defending champ in the playoffs.

It was an eventful season and a lot of stuff happened. Not just with me, but with the whole team with guys going out with injuries. So, it just shows you that every year in the NBA is different and you can’t go into a season just expecting things to be perfect or expecting everything to go perfect because it’s such a long season. And so much can happen in that time frame of 82 [regular season] games and the postseason. So, that’s just what I’ve learned over my first three years in this league: you can’t take any years in this league for granted. Every season is a new race. You have to approach it as such. You can’t just expect to have success or expect to be somewhere without actually putting the work in. Also, having luck; some of that is luck as well the way the cards are dealt.

Personally, I learned I just have to be mindful of how I feel. Getting hurt so early in the season — I had just come off a 50-point game, fourth game of the year — I was feeling in tip top shape physically and I just felt like nothing could stop me or harm me. The game I did get hurt, I felt myself being really fatigued. And instead of asking for a sub or saying I need one, I kept it all in and said, ‘I’m good. I’m going to be fine.’ I ended up getting hurt in what would be a season-altering injury for me. So, I learned to listen to your body. Don’t overwork or over push yourself trying to be Superman in the first month of the season. It’s not worth it. Obviously, be smarter about that.

As a team, we just learned that you can’t take a season for granted. You can’t come in and expect the things to just be how they were the last [season] or be perfect. I’m not saying we did. But this [season] was just a wakeup call for us as a group that stuff in this league is always changing. It’s never the same. You have to be ready for whatever happens.

[Overcoming adversity] told guys what they already knew: that we were talented as hell. We have a group that can figure it out, no matter who’s in, who’s out. And that’s what we did all season. Our work and our belief in ourselves got us to all this, got us to clinching the seventh seed. It’s a lot to build from. But you have to realize that you have to grow from this. You have to be better. We don’t want to come back and be in the play-in again next [season]. We were a five-seed [in the playoffs] the season prior. So, next year we are just trying to come in and be better in all aspects.

Statistically, this is my best season, but to me, it doesn’t feel that way. I’m not satisfied with how this year went for me or for the team. I had career-highs in all areas. But it wasn’t what I expected it to be coming in. I really did come into this season expecting to dominate the whole season into the playoffs, accomplish all my goals. So, when that doesn’t happen, it leaves a lot to be desired and makes you even more hungry.

I’m not going into the offseason like, ‘I just had a career year. I’m good.’ Stop. I feel like food was taken off my plate, in a sense. I feel like something was stolen from me. Not saying no one stole anything from me, but that’s just how I feel. Going down in injury, having to deal with that and not feel like myself for a while, it was just a bummer. I’m just looking forward to bouncing back.

I’m grateful for this team and the experiences we had this season. There were some fun moments and some of the harder moments that we stuck together through. The team has been different every single season. Whether there are a couple of guys who are gone, it’s always a little different when the next [season] starts. We’re definitely going to always remember this team. We had just a great locker room with great guys on this squad. I don’t know who’s gonna be gone, who’s gonna come back. However, it plays out, I’m just grateful for his team.

I’ll make sure to tell everyone that before I get out of [the practice facility] that I appreciate them because everyone on this team contributed in some way, shape or form throughout this season to help us get to where we got. I got nothing but love respect for every single player in the locker room. Everyone was in it for the right reasons. Nobody was a selfish or worrying about themselves. It was all about the team.

(Note: ESPN’s Bobby Marks said that Banchero is eligible for a $247 million extension over five years this offseason. Banchero’s career earnings through the 2024-25 season are $34,875,497).

I don’t know man. I was in over my head when I signed my rookie [contract]. So, I really haven’t thought much about that. That’s why it was kind of taking me back right now. I haven’t really said that number or I didn’t even know what the number was or what it will be. But it’s a blessing and hopefully all that stuff works out if I’m able to sign with the team and lock in my future. That’s every young player’s goal coming into this league, establishing yourself early, get a second contract. So, when time comes, I’m sure all that stuff we can figure out. I don’t know. They say more money, more problems. So, we’ll see what happens.

I have a financial team, a financial advisor who I respect. Also, I go to my dad. He’s taught me pretty much everything I know about finances my whole life. He’s an entrepreneur, owns a business. He’s really sharp on all that stuff. I go to him a lot about just money and how to handle my money, where I should be smart about it.

I didn’t grow up dirt [poor] or anything like that, but I definitely didn’t grow up rich. So, being able to be in this position, for not only me but my family, I thank God every day, honestly. It’s really not just because of me. I thank God for allowing me to bless the people who work so hard to provide for me my whole life. Whether it’s my mom and dad, my grandma, grandpa, my aunties, uncles. I just really had a village that helped raise me, helped take care of me coming up.

They don’t even ask for stuff really, except my mom. Most of my family, they don’t ask me for stuff. They are not hounding me about getting stuff or asking for whatever. It’s not like that. They’re very gracious and respectful. But it’s just awesome knowing that they don’t have to worry about anything. I can take care of them now. They spent 18, 19 years watching me, taking care of me. They made sure I was always good and now I can kind of reverse it make sure that they’re always good. It’s a blessing.

How would I like the team to improve? Just improving in all aspects. As a team, we felt what it was like when with this guy out or that guy out. We felt what it was like when it was all together. We have a good feel of what are weaknesses are and what we need to work on. We just have to address some of those things. I’m looking forward to it, what changes are made. If there aren’t any changes, then there aren’t any changes, but if there are then I’m going to be ready to get to work and embrace it with open arms.

At the end of the day, it’s about winning. We’re trying to get past the first round. We’ve been there two years [in a row]. We don’t want to be known for just getting into the first round. We want to be known for making deep runs in the playoffs. In order to do that, you got to improve as a team and an organization.

I’ve never really been a big recruiter, I’m not going to lie, but hey, if you’re interested, I can sell you. I have to play that by ear and just wait and see. But as I get more into my career, the goal just remains wanting to win. That’s just my mentality. That’s how I’ve always played the game. Whatever that may be, I’m willing to do it as long as it results in wins.

I’m definitely going to go back home for the majority of the summer back to Seattle. My grandma’s 75th birthday is in June. She’s been reminding me for the last three months that she has her 75th coming up. She is going to make sure that I’m there and my whole family is there celebrating her. Seventy five, that’s a lot of years on this Earth. She’s really excited and proud. I’m looking forward to that — celebrating her life. My grandma, she don’t even look 75. She looks 55. I love her.

I’m going to be working on my game, man. That’s what I love about the offseason is just being locked in the gym, working on my game, going hard, getting better. I’m blessed to be going into the offseason healthy, getting in better shape, coming into next season ready. We’re gonna do a little traveling throughout the summer — Europe, maybe a couple other places. I really just like to chill during the summer. I don’t like to just be bouncing around the whole summer going country to country, state to state. I like to sit down and kind of have a routine. You got an in-season routine, and then you have a — for me — offseason routine. I kind want them to be similar. What you eat. When you go to sleep. You don’t want to be doing something totally different in the offseason. You’re then coming to the season, trying to get back on schedule. You want to get that same regimen going. Obviously, it’s a little different, but you want to keep it similar so that come September and October you hit the ground running.

The one thing lesson I learned this season is you can’t take health, you can’t take success, you can’t take winning for granted. Throughout my whole athletic career, I always won from five, six years old, all the way through college. I was just always used to winning. I got to the NBA, the first years I’m kind of like feeling everything out. And my second year, you know, we’re winning, we’re going to the playoffs. Coming into the third year, I was so sure that I was gonna have a huge year, the team was gonna have a huge year. I put the work in and I was just 110-percent sure that it was going to go the way I knew it was gonna go and it didn’t. I got hurt the fifth game of the season, [it] kind of just shook me up, took me back a little bit and made me realize that God’s plan is not always your plan.

You have to be able to get over things that happen and you have to find a way to better from it. What I learned is I can’t take none of this stuff for granted. Every year I got a come in [with] a little bit of a fresh mindset of nothing is gonna be given to me. I have to earn every win. I have to treat every day the same, recover the same, get ready for every game, every practice. Every day is a new day. Nothing is just given or happens because you worked out hard in the summer. I have to go into it with an even-keeled mindset.