Bismack Biyombo jumped at the opportunity to join the Orlando Magic. After tasting success in Toronto, he wanted the chance to build from scratch.
Bismack Biyombo enjoyed the Toronto Raptors’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. There really is nothing like it. This is an experience Biyombo draws from as he tries to lead the Orlando Magic and help them achieve their own Playoff dreams.
It is what pushes Biyombo to set the example, pushing his way past a shoulder injury to play on as a defensive leader for the team. It helps him speak up as an active voice on the team’s still growing, but sometimes devastating defense.
Biyombo wanted all of this. It was one of the things he sought in free agency, leaving the conference finalists in Toronto for a rebuilding project in Orlando.
The Magic signed Biyombo to a four-year, $70-million contract this summer, hoping he would anchor the team’s defense for the foreseeable future. The Magic signed him hoping to anchor his defense. He signed with the hope of being a part of something new.
“In the end, it was tough,” Biyombo said. “At some level, I think what we did in Toronto was special, but I wanted to go back through the process and do it again. When I had the opportunity to come here, it was to go back and do it again. I believe there have been a lot of stories here. I want to be able to help to go back and make some more.”
Biyombo said he appreciated and enjoyed the experience in Toronto. He said up until midnight on July 1, he was still talking with his teammates in Toronto and fully expected to return to the team.
That desire to build something new pulled him to Orlando (the contract probably did not hurt either as Toronto was comfortable not matching). Biyombo wanted to be part of a fresh beginning and to help a team through the growing pains.
It makes the success all the sweeter.
“It was special playing with those guys because of the consistency they were bringing each night,” Biyombo said. “That is what forces me to do what I do and be the best at it every night to give the chance to win the game and understand how important it is to win the game.”
Biyombo said playing hurt was something he saw Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan do throughout the season. He saw the leadership they had every day and brought that to the Magic locker room.
His on-court statistics are obviously not much to look at — a career-high 6.0 points per game, a career-high 8.1 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game. His rebound rate has predictably decreased in his increased minutes and his block rate is at a career low — perhaps partly because of Frank Vogel’s more conservative scheme for centers.
Biyombo, though, has provided a major boost for the Magic’s defense. Exactly what the team signed him for.
He is 17th in the league in defensive box plus-minus, according to Basketball-Reference.
Biyombo is always a player who plays with a lot of energy and emotion. Those emotions may only get amplified Sunday as he plays the Raptors for the first time this season.
“It’s always a hard challenge,” Evan Fournier said. “You have to keep your emotions in the right place. You have to play the game like it’s a regular one. But obviously, it’s not. You have to bring good energy. Probably sometimes you want to do too much. I’m not worried about Bismack at all. He’s a great guy, he’s a great competitor.”
Serge Ibaka added you have to try to do what you do anyway. You cannot focus and overdo it. He said he just needs to play his game.
That advice certainly worked for Ibaka in his first game against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this season. Ibaka had a career-high 31 points, including the game-winning basket in a Magic win. Evan Fournier scored 14 points, a high total for Fournier at the time, against the Denver Nuggets in his first game against his former team.
Biyombo is already an energetic player. The prospect of playing against his immediate former team should add some excitement. Biyombo already played against the Charlotte Hornets, sharing some close moments with former teammates before that game began
Biyombo already played against the Hornets, sharing some close moments with former teammates before that game began.
It will be an emotional game for Biyombo. He said that group is like his family. Many are still close — Kyle Lowry and several players cracked jokes at Biyombo’s expense on his birthday earlier this year.
The Raptors will always have a special place for Biyombo for the growth they helped foster in him as a professional, teaching him how to be a leader and giving him a taste of success in the NBA.
“Last year for me was special because I don’t think without them I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Biyombo said. “They gave me an opportunity and they let me help them. in the end, we all help each other and we work for each and the result was what it was. I think we can live with that. I can only hope and wish they go further than they did last year.”
Next: Orlando Magic finding better balance offensively
The Raptors will go their separate way after leaving the Amway Center on Sunday. Biyombo will remain to impart those lessons to the Magic as they continue to grow.