Orlando Magic aim to set their identity with Mohamed Bamba as their centerpiece

The Orlando Magic have searched for an identity for six years. Drafting Mohamed Bamba is a bet they can build it with an elite defender.

The Orlando Magic at their best have always had a pivot to orbit around. No matter how much the league changed (at least partly by the Magic’s own doing), they always had the man in the middle to make things work — on both ends. Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard set their identity in many ways.

For Shaquille O’Neal, it was his force and power that demanded defenses suck in to try to stop him. He could blow past them anyway.

With Dwight Howard, it was his defense. A veritable maelstrom with teammates funneling everything to him and allowing him to erase shots and deter everything in the paint.

Both players set their identity this way. Two fulcrums to lever their entire team on.

It is this lever the Magic have missed since Howard left. And the lever the team tried desperately to pull without ever finding a difference maker — really on either end. No one was able to create that gravity of play and personality to demand other team’s full attention or decrease their narrow margin of error.

Orlando always had to be perfect with the players they selected and on the floor. Even the best players the Magic drafted never seemed like true difference makers.

As the league has evolved, teams have valued versatility and length. But there is still the need to have that pivot and that backstop. The deterrent at the rim to force mid-range jumpers. Offense matters — and Orlando still has a lot of questions on the offensive end — but defense can still be a foundation.

The Golden State Warriors are great for their offensive spurtability. But it is their ninth-ranked defense that turned them into Playoff contenders and eventually champions. And that ninth-ranked defense is the lowest golden State has had since Steve Kerr took over.

There are truly few players who can change a team’s identity by their presence and physicality. Simply by standing in the paint, they can be someone who prevents drives and deters shots at the rim, turning efficient shots at the rim into inefficient floaters and mid-range jumpers.

That is the effect of length and athleticism. These are the players teams “tank” for and try to get.

And that is what the Magic found in drafting Mohamed Bamba with the sixth overall pick. This is not something Bamba is hiding from eitehr, showing the charisma of his center predecessors in Orlando.

Perhaps Bamba put it best himself when he spoke to the media. He is a player who brings presence. Teams need a player who will make their opponents feel them in some way. Someone they have to plan around and watch for. Someone who can make plays and make up for his teammates’ mistakes.

With his 7-foot-10 wingspan, the largest ever recorded at the NBA Draft Combine, Bamba clearly has that presence. He showed with the Texas Longhorns that he could hold his own on the perimeter for a center and be the defensive terror teams build their defenses on.

That is the promise that comes with Bamba. It is a promise the Magic have not felt in six years with any of the players they drafted.

Victor Oladipo was a still raw shooter and perimeter defensive ace who still had a lot of rough edges to smooth — it took him five years really to do it. Aaron Gordon was a bundle of athleticism that had to develop and find his place in the league. That remains a work in progress. Mario Hezonja was supposed to have the mix of athleticism and shooting a team needs. But even he remained more an idea and potential role player.

Jonathan Isaac was a physical freak with long arms to make an impact on defense on the perimeter. But he too was still raw offensively. His future is still unwritten and uncertain.

The benefit of this draft class was that there were several players that fit this bill. Someone with this potential impact like Bamba could fall to six.

Of course, it is also probably fair to say this kind of pressure should not be put completely on him. These are all hopes and dreams for a young player. Bamba still is a young player with plenty of room to grow. Plenty of promise, sure, but a long way to go before he is fully realized as a player.

Bamba seems to recognize this. His lone year at Texas was long on defensive highlights and statistics, but short on much impressively on offense.

He has spent most of his offseason so far working to improve his shooting form and extend his range to the 3-point line. He was already a capable jump shooter. That offensive impact will remain a work in progress.

But defense will determine whether he makes it in the league or not. The potential for Bamba is that he brings an elite skill. His length alone makes him a shot-blocking threat. And he is already pretty good at that skill.

Will that be something to build around? The Magic sure hope so. To go against the grain in the NBA, it requires having someone to build around that is truly unique.

No offense to anyone already on the roster, but Bamba seems to have that unique quality.

The success or failure in this pick will rest on whether Bamba can truly change the Magic’s defense. That is the gamble the team made.

If Orlando quickly becomes a top defensive team, they likely will have Bamba to thank for it. And the pick will be well worth it.

Next: OMD Podcast: The Draftermath

That is the belief and hope that comes from this NBA Draft.