The Orlando Magic spent much of last season talking about health, and for good reason. Franz Wagner’s return changed the shape of their playoff series, but he wasn’t the only important piece trying to get back to full speed. Anthony Black was dealing with his own injury issues, and by the time the Playoffs arrived, he was still working his way back.
That mattered more than it probably got credit for.
Black had already put together a breakout season before the injury bug caught him. With Paolo Banchero sidelined by a strained groin muscle, Black helped fill the gap and kept the Magic moving. He finished the year with a career-high 15.0 points per game and shot a career-best 44.7 percent from the floor.
The stretch between Banchero’s injury on Nov. 12 and Wagner’s return in Berlin was especially strong. In those 29 games, including the one when Banchero went down, Black averaged 17.6 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent overall and 36.4 percent from three. That run included the moment in Berlin when he dunked on four players to break a tie with two minutes remaining.
For a team missing one of its main offensive pieces, Black’s rise was huge. It gave the Magic another source of scoring and helped keep them in the playoff race.
With a rookie-contract player stepping into a major role, Black also started looking like a serious part of the franchise’s future. He has set himself up for a major extension this offseason or next.
But the finish line told a different story.
Black suffered a strained abdominal muscle early in the March 7 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That came in just his second game back after missing a pair of contests, and it wiped out the entire six-game losing streak that followed.
He returned a month later and played the final four games of the regular season, but the numbers showed he was not all the way back. He averaged 10.5 points per game and shot 36.1 percent from the floor, with double figures in just two of those games.
Those games also came against teams that were sitting starters ahead of the end of the season.
The Playoffs were even rougher. Black averaged 8.6 points per game and shot 37.0 percent from the floor.
He reached double figures only twice, including a 19-point Game 5 in which he hit 4 of 6 from three and an 11-point Game 7. He never posted a positive plus/minus in the series, finishing at -19 in the Game 4 win and -12 in the Game 6 collapse.
That left the Magic without a key piece at a time when every edge mattered. Wagner’s injury was the bigger headline, but Black’s absence from peak form was part of the same problem. With both players trying to ramp back up, Orlando was never quite whole.
That makes Black’s role going forward even more important. He is viewed as at least a sixth man this season, and FanDuel Sportsbook has him third in the odds for Sixth Man of the Year. He also figures to be a starter when injuries hit, and there is even a path where he makes Jalen Suggs expendable as the Magic weigh the realities of being a first- and nearly a second-apron team.
There’s also the extension question, with an October deadline looming.
For now, the immediate need is clear. Orlando’s bench ranked near the bottom of the league, and Black is expected to be one of the main offensive engines off it. He and Nikola Vucevic will likely carry much of that scoring load.
The Magic needed Franz Wagner back. They needed Anthony Black, too. And in the Playoffs, they didn’t get the best version of either one.
In Other News...
Paolo Banchero Just Reopened Orlandos Biggest Playoff Debate
Orlandos offseason conversation keeps circling back to the same question: is this roster already built to take the next step, or does it still need another major piece? After finishing 45-37 and landing the No. 8 seed last season, the Magic got a taste of the postseason before a first-round exit exposed how thin the margin can be when the games tighten up. Paolo Banchero has made it clear he believes the group has plenty to work with, pointing to the teams size, defense and versatility as reasons for optimism.
The bigger issue is how last spring ended, when Orlando held a 3-1 series lead over Detroit before the wheels came off. Banchero acknowledged the impact of Franz Wagners absence in that run, and his comments only sharpen the debate about whether the Magic are close enough to stand pat or still need more help to turn a promising core into a real playoff threat. [Read more 🡒]
Former Magic Pick Jett Howard Just Got An Unexpected Fresh Start
Jett Howards next stop comes with a clean slate and a familiar kind of developmental runway. The former Magic guard-forward, taken in the first round in 2023, is moving on after three seasons in Orlando, where the son of former NBA player and Michigan star Juwan Howard never quite found steady footing but still showed enough promise to keep his name in the conversation.
Now he gets another chance to sort it out in a different setting, with Dallas creating room for him by waiving Tyler Smith. Howard is set to split time between the NBA and G League under coach Dusty May, and for a player still trying to turn draft pedigree into a defined role, the appeal is obvious even if the path forward is still a little unfinished. [Read more 🡒]