Rhonda Banchero

Rhonda Smith-Banchero is an American former basketball player. She played college basketball for the Washington Huskies where she graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer and was inducted to the Husky Hall of Fame in 2004. She went on to play professionally for several seasons, including for the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA.

Amateur career

Smith-Banchero attended Franklin High School in Seattle. She led the school's basketball team to the semifinals of the state playoffs in 1988 and 1989. She holds the record for most rebounds in a Washington state playoff game. Her senior season, she was named state high school girl's basketball player of the year by the Seattle Times and Gatorade.
Smith-Banchero then attended the University of Washington. She became familiar with her hometown team and coach Chris Gobrecht after her older sister became the team's manager. Smith-Banchero set the school's all-time scoring record, which was later broken by Jamie Redd. In her final three seasons, Smith-Banchero topped the Huskies in points and rebounds and led to the NCAA tournament, winning at least one home game each tournament appearance. Her senior year, she was named an All-American by Basketball America.

Professional career

After college, Smith played professional basketball in Taiwan before joining the Seattle Reign of the American Basketball League. She later played for the Portland Power in the defunct women's league, then played in Israel in 1999 before being drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in the third round of the 2000 WNBA draft. She played nine games in the 2000 WNBA season.

Career statistics

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

College

Post-playing career

Smith-Banchero has worked several jobs after her playing career. She was a software-licensing consultant for Microsoft. She is now the director of organizational equity and inclusion at Downtown Emergency Service Center in Seattle.
In basketball, she coached the girls basketball team at Holy Names Academy and was a color commentator for UW women's basketball broadcasts.

Personal life

Smith-Banchero is the mother of NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero. Smith-Banchero helped her son file a lawsuit in 2019 against the King County Sheriff’s Office after an officer pointed a gun at a friend of Banchero during a traffic stop in after a concert 2018. The sheriff's office apologized to the two mixed children and implemented new use-of-force guidelines when its officers approach motorists. Banchero received $20,000 from the lawsuit.
Smith-Banchero met her husband, Mario Banchero at the University of Washington, when she played on the basketball team and he was a walk-on on the football team. He is the co-owner of a family butcher and meat distributor business.
Smith-Banchero has two younger children who are also athletes. Mia Banchero is a college soccer player at Queens University of Charlotte. Giulio Banchero plays football at O'Dea High School.
Smith-Banchero grew up in the Mount Baker neighborhood of Seattle, where she still lives.