Anthony Black enters the next season with a lot hanging on his shoulders.
The Orlando Magic have already started their group work at the AdventHealth Training Center, and Black was among the players shown in the team’s photos alongside Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Nikola Vucevic and Wendell Carter Jr. That early glimpse of preparation is a reminder that the 2026-27 NBA season is coming fast, and for Black, the pressure is real.
Beyond the core of Banchero, Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane, Black may be the player facing the most scrutiny. The 22-year-old Arkansas product has steadily climbed offensively, but the next step is where the questions begin.
As a rookie, Black averaged 4.6 points in 69 appearances and 33 starts. In his second season, he played in 78 games, started only 10, and pushed that number to 9.4 points per game. Then came year three, when, with guidance from former assistant coach God Shammgod, he jumped to 15 points per game and delivered several 20-plus point outings along with two 30-plus point performances.
That growth has put him in a different spot financially, too. Black is on the second year of a club option, and if no deal gets done before then, he will enter the 2027-28 season as a restricted free agent. There has already been speculation about what kind of extension he could command, and there is a chance it gets done before the season even starts.
If not, the spotlight only gets brighter.
Black has made clear strides as a scorer and a ball handler, but the rough edges are still there. His 3-point shooting remains a concern at 33.3% in 2025-26, and his free throw percentage has dipped even as his attempts have gone up, sitting at 73.2% in 2025-26.
The postseason also left room for more. Against the Detroit Pistons last season, Black scored in double figures only twice across seven games, posting 19 points in Game 5 and 11 in Game 7. The year before, he also had trouble finding his footing in five games against the Boston Celtics.
For the Magic, Black’s rise is about more than his next contract. If Orlando wants to push its ceiling higher, the bench has to deliver, and that means Black has to be a difference-maker in his sixth-man role.
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For the Magic, the question is no longer whether Suggs can impact winning. It is whether he can become reliable enough on both ends to help carry a team with real postseason expectations, all while the organization weighs his injury history and the long-term value of his contract. Orlandos next step may depend as much on that answer as on anything else on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
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ESPNs D+ offseason grade only added to the sense that this is a make-or-break stretch for Orlando, even with the organization banking on internal development and better health to move the needle. The talent is there to make progress, but the next step depends on whether the pieces already in place can stay on the floor and produce at a higher level, because the margin for another disappointing season feels thinner now than it did a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Black Is Forcing A Tough Magic Decision
Anthony Black has given the Magic enough reason to keep paying attention. He has flashed the kind of two-way promise that makes a young guard easy to imagine in a bigger role, and at times he has looked like a starter worth building around. But Orlando is already staring at a payroll picture that gets tight fast, with more than $150 million tied up in its top four players and Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner forming the heart of the roster.
That leaves the front office with a real decision looming on Black, who could become a restricted free agent. His shooting remains uneven enough to keep the discussion from being simple, but his upside is obvious enough to make letting him go risky. The Magic may not be alone in weighing his value either, with the Kings potentially lining up as a suitor if their own roster changes push them into the market. [Read more 🡒]