Orlando Magic No. 1 Pick Paolo Banchero Competing in Hometown Seattle Pro-Am League

The No. 1 pick will get some 5-on-5 action before returning to the Magic for training camp.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 18, 2022

Orlando Magic No. 1 Pick Paolo Banchero Competing in Hometown Seattle Pro-Am League /

ORLANDO - When Paolo Banchero suits up for the Orlando Magic this season, he'll play his home games over 2,500 miles from his hometown of Seattle.

Moving a far distance isn't foreign to Banchero, who played his college basketball at Duke in Durham, N.C., but Seattle is a place that Banchero holds close to his heart.

And Banchero's a player who wears a heart on his sleeve ... quite literally.

Banchero has a large tattoo of the Space Needle and Mount Rainier on his shoulder along with other local landmarks down his arm.

“I carry [Seattle] with me everywhere I go. Seattle is always going to be in me and a part of me,” Banchero said in an interview with SLAM Magazine. “Part of my mission is to try to put Seattle on the map and get us as much recognition as I can.”

Banchero will help put Seattle on the map by participating in Seattle's biggest Pro-Am tournament, The Crawsover.

The Crawsover, founded by 20-year NBA veteran and Seattle native Jamal Crawford, kicked off this past weekend but is expected to feature some NBA vets in the coming weeks.

Banchero is expected to play for Team Real Ballers alongside NBA All-Star and the newest member of the Atlanta Hawks, Dejounte Murray.

Other NBA players expected to participate in the league are Kevin Porter Jr., Tari Eason (Houston Rockets), Jalen McDaniels, Jaylen Nowell (Minnesota Timberwolves), Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), Malachi Flynn (Toronto Raptors), Isaiah Thomas (free agent) and MarJon Beauchamp (Milwaukee Bucks).

Published Jul 18, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.