The Seattle Seahawks began the 2025-26 season at home in Seattle at Lumen Field against the San Francisco 49ers, and the Seahawks had a special guest in attendance in the form of the former Rookie of the Year and All-Star forward from the Orlando Magic, Paolo Banchero.
Before the game started, Banchero had a message for the 49ers and the hometown Seahawks fans.
“What’s up? Number 12? Paolo Banchero here at the Seahawks game, about to take care of the Niners. Man, excited Go Hawks!” Said Banchero.
Unfortunately, for Banchero and the 12s, the Seahawks would lose their home opener to the 49ers 17-13 on a pass from Sam Darnold, where he was hit as he tried to release the ball on second with four yards to go, with Nick Busa forcing the game-winning fumble.
“Obviously not the start that we wanted, credit those guys,” Darnold said. “I thought their defense came out and played really well. They had some good scheme. Obviously Coach Shanahan and the guys over there, knew they’d be ready to roll. For us, it was just not enough today. I felt like we weren’t as efficient as we wanted to be on first and second down; third down we got to be way better as well. So not our best day today. We’ll bounce back and be better next week.”
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald added, “I thought we played efficiently. “Thought we protected him well, thought he played fast. Just like what Sam does in the clutch. We put ourselves in a position to win.”
The following week, the Seattle Seahawks would bounce back with a 31-17 win on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As they secured their first of 14 regular-season wins and later went on to win the NFC West, they locked up the number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.
Seattle would have to go through the Los Angeles Rams and 49ers to land that number one seed in the back half of the regular season, and then again in the playoffs as they made their way to the second Super Bowl win in franchise history with Kenneth Walker III being named Super Bowl LX MVP. Walker finished with 135 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards.
“If I would have told myself as a kid, I wouldn’t have guessed that I would be the one to win the MVP,” Walker told reporters shortly after he won the honor. “So it’s a surreal moment.”
Recently, Banchero spoke with LandonBuford.com about having bagging rights over Niners fans moving forward after capturing a Super Bowl at Levi Stadium against the New England Patriots.
“Yeah, I was ecstatic. I mean, I went to the first two games of the season, and I knew they were good, but I’d be lying if I said the vibe, both for me and the fans, felt like we were heading to the Super Bowl,” said Banchero.
“Just watching them throughout the season and seeing their success, you know, I’ve been around training camp and stuff like that, and I know a couple guys on the team, it was just dope to see them on their journey. Then, to put on the kind of show they did in the playoffs was super exciting for my family and me. I haven’t felt that kind of excitement in probably 10–12 years, so that was really special.”
He added, “And then, winning at the 49ers’ stadium, I think that’s forever one-up. We got to win the championship on their home field, and that’s a rival of ours. We lost to them in pretty dramatic fashion in the first game of the season, so being able to get that get-back meant a lot for the city.”
This season with the Orlando Magic, Banchero is averaging 22.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game across 69 games.
