James Ennis began and finished the 2021 season with two different, yet serious leg injuries.
The 30-year old swingman — who ended the season as the team’s elder statesman, for all intents and purposes — was sidelined at the start of the year with a hamstring injury and recovered to play 41 games while dealing with off-and-on calf soreness.
Even with seven seasons of experience on seven different teams, Ennis was not the team’s most-tenured veteran after the departures of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon in March. But his career has been full of lessons learned, those that were valuable to impart to the Magic’s young core.
To evaluate Ennis’ season purely through his on-court performance would be a disservice to his role as a locker room leader, and certainly not indicative of his true ability given the injury troubles he faced.
James Ennis proved to be a strong veteran for the Orlando Magic throughout the season. But like much of the team, he just could not stay on the court thanks to a nagging calf injury.
Impressively, his on-court numbers were still among some of the best of his career.
Ennis averaged 8.4 points per game with a 56.6-percent effective field goal percentage. He was one of the few reliable shooters on th team, at least by percentage, hitting 43.3-percent of his outside shots.
His true shooting percentage of 61.3-percent was his second-best behind his 2016 figure, albeit on a much smaller mix of outside shots. Ennis also got to the line at the second-best rate for his career, indicating he served a pivotal role in generating easy points for an anemic Magic offense.
In addition, Ennis’ 43.3-percent mark from beyond the arc ranked in the 94th percentile among players at his position, per Dunks and Threes. The Magic relied on him as one of the team’s best outside shooters.
He also averaged near career highs in rebounds, steals, and assists, and played his signature brand of defense that has earned him a reputation as one of the league’s most reliable defenders.
When Ennis started his season in the Magic’s eighth game, he was asked to play crucial minutes as the team’s only true small forward. The additional playing time could have been a contributing factor in Ennis’ injury struggles, though he has had difficulties staying healthy throughout his career.
Another contributing factor could have been Ennis’ play on the court, mainly his fearless nose for the ball, which he displayed often:
This possession showcases the small things Ennis does to help his team win, many of which do not show up on the stat sheet. He senses the rhythm of the offensive possession, shrewdly uses a pump fake to open a lane, and creates to find his teammate, Khem Birch.
The Magic’s starting lineup was simply better with Ennis on the floor. And it was clear how much he helped hold things together.
Orlando posted a -3.8 net rating with James Ennis on the floor, the fourth-best overall mark on the team behind Otto Porter, Michael Carter-Williams and Aaron Gordon. The Magic’s trio of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon posted their second-best overall net rating (-2.3 points per 100 possessions) with Ennis as a fourth player. That trailed only Chasson Randle in far fewer minutes — 98 with Ennis compared to 30 with Randle.
These are all comparative numbers, of course. The Magic struggled throughout the season. But the potential for Ennis to help the team get better was ever-present. And missing most of the season.
He is also one of the best offensive rebounders for his size. Ennis rebounded 4.5-percent of the Magic’s missed field goal attempts this season.
In more than one way, he is a prototypical Steve Clifford player — he gives maximum effort on defense and plays for his teammates. The gap that his skill set filled and the strong match between player and coach certainly contributed to Ennis’ success this season.
One nuanced example was his ability to create easy baskets off-ball as a cutter, which we highlighted as an offensive key for the Magic at the All-Star break.
Ennis displays a cerebral understanding of how to contribute in any team system. Here he creates an easy attempt as the lone man in the “dunker’s spot”, usually a relegation for the fifth man to improve spacing along the perimeter:
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, James Ennis’ man, clearly falls asleep, but that highlights the point even further. Players do not make this cut in the role Ennis was asked to play, instead often opting to rest for a possession. Smart was caught off guard by Ennis’ instincts.
James Ennis is one of the few players league-wide who doesn’t take possessions off, either mentally or physically.
Given the difficulties from injury, Ennis played as well as the Magic could have hoped. It would have been interesting to see what his ceiling would have been had he been able to stay healthy for seventy-two games.
He certainly was a value on his $3.3 million 1-year deal, providing not only veteran experience but a much-needed offensive skillset for this Orlando team. Ennis enters the 2021 offseason as an unrestricted free agent with a $6.3 million cap hold, and it seems likely he will garner interest across the league at that figure.
Ennis is said to want a long-term contract too after bouncing around from team to team so much. One thing is clear, Ennis is someone who can help a team win.
Jeff Weltman and the Magic’s management team have made a concerted decision to revamp the roster and start a rebuild, so they may not hold the same level of interest in resigning Ennis as they would if the team was still vying for playoff contention.
Regardless, Ennis is and will be one of the best deals across the league, a savvy and altruistic contributor that makes any team better. Even with his limited play this season, the Magic certainly benefited from his presence.
And even with the indication that the Magic will prioritize youth this offseason to complement their already young core, they’ll likely have a hard time letting Ennis walk away.