LAS VEGAS - Noah Penda didn’t spend his rookie season bombing away from deep. In 59 games, the Magic forward never took more than seven 3-pointers in one game and never made more than three in a night.
That changed fast Thursday at Summer League.
Against the Hornets at Cox Pavilion inside UNLV, Penda went 5-for-10 from 3-point range and finished with a team-high 23 points in nearly 30 minutes as Orlando opened its Las Vegas slate with an 86-74 loss to Charlotte.
The shot volume wasn’t an accident. It was the point.
“We’re encouraging that,” Magic Summer League coach D.J. Bakker said after the game.
“He’s been working at it. I think it’s about taking the right shots.
That’s probably the biggest thing, understanding what our shot quality is, what shots we want to generate. Then once we do that, and you catch it, be aggressive and let it fly.”
That message has come from Orlando’s new coaching staff under Sean Sweeney, and Penda has responded with a heavy dose of work. The 6-foot-7 French forward said he can fire off anywhere from 500 to 750 triples a day, depending on how much time he has on the practice court.
“I’ve worked a (expletive) ton on my shot this summer,” Penda said. “It’s an occasion to, as I said before Summer League, to gain a little confidence before the season starts.
It’s about the shot selection. You want to take good shots, and even though it’s Summer League, don’t take shots that you know you’re not going to take during the regular season.”
For Orlando, the payoff could be significant. The Magic ranked 27th in 3-point percentage last season at 34.3%. They generated the 10th-most wide-open 3s in the league, but still shot the third-worst percentage on those looks at 36.5%, according to NBA.com.
When those shots didn’t drop, defenses were able to crowd the lane and make life tougher for Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs on drives to the basket.
Penda knows exactly why this matters.
“I really wanted to improve this part because I know this is what is going to keep me on the floor next year - my ability to space the floor for Franz and Paolo,” Penda said. “So, it’s going to be an important way of progression and (I’m) just going to keep working.”
His night was about more than the jumper, though. Penda was active everywhere, grabbing seven rebounds and adding two assists, two steals and three blocks.
There were some rough edges, too. He picked up five fouls, part of the Summer League learning curve as he figures out when to press and when to stay disciplined on both ends.
“He could do so much more than just shoot the ball,” Bakker said about Penda. “He’s a big body.
He’s strong. He does a very good job screening and rolling.
We put him in different scenarios for that and we trust him in the paint. He did a great job (Thursday night) playing off of two feet and playing with patience and balance.
“So, (we) saw some really good strides from him in that department, which is really encouraging,” Bakker added.
Penda’s teammates have noticed the work, too, including second-year guard Jase Richardson, who had 15 points, four assists and two steals against Charlotte.
“He’s worked on that all summer,” Richardson said. “He’s come in a lot more confident in his shot. When he’s seeing those tough ones go down, the basket gets bigger and bigger for him.
“His intensity (Thursday) was amazing,” the guard added. “He played amazing.
That really helps us. We feed off his energy.”
Orlando is back at Cox Pavilion on Saturday afternoon against the Heat at 3:30 p.m. on Prime, then closes the back-to-back Sunday night against the Trail Blazers at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
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