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Orlando Magic Player Comparisons: Young veterans with rookie experience

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz has some strong models he can follow as he recovers from injury. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz has some strong models he can follow as he recovers from injury. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic
The Jonathan Isaac’s promising comeback crashed quickly and took the franchise’s whole future into turmoil. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) /

Jonathan Isaac

Basketball-Reference: Nate Williams, Robert Covington, Tobias Harris
FiveThirtyEight: Kristaps Porzingis, Tyrus Thomas, Nerlens Noel

Jonathan Isaac is still one of the toughest players to grade in the league. And the numbers do not quite know what to do with him because he has played so little.

To the eye test, Isaac is one of the most versatile and devastating defenders in the league. He can be someone who defends all five positions and do it effectively. There are definitely all-defensive teams in his future.

If he can stay healthy.

Unfortunately, injuries have been the story of his career. Every advancement in his career has been slowed by a devastating injury. That breakout 2020 season just feels bitter with the double dose of devastating injuries that ended his season.

Magic fans are most excited to see Isaac return. He is still one of the few players who have star potential on the team.

Isaac’s numbers do not look fantastic. He averaged a career-best 11.9 points per game in the 2020 season. His defensive numbers were what really stood out — 1.6 steals per game and 2.3 blocks per game, flirting with leading the league in blocks as a perimeter player.

It is hard to say whether Isaac can continue to improve as a 3-point shooter. He jumped up to 34.0-percent from beyond the arc in 2020 on 2.8 attempts per game. A lot of his future depends on this improvement.

But nobody knows what Isaac will look like when he gets back from injury. That still remains the biggest question.

His player comparisons though track two types of players.

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    • Basketball-Reference’s use of win shares is a bit skewed because Isaac accumulated only 0.2 win shares in his truncated third season. But most of the players on his player similarity list are ace defenders.

    Robert Covington feels like a good floor for Jonathan Isaac to achieve still. Nate Williams, who had the best player similarity score according to Basketball-Reference, was a great defender in the 1970s for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

    Nobody doubts Isaac’s defensive bona fides. And he seems like his floor, when healthy, tracks other elite defensive players. That feels like what Isaac is at the very least.

    FiveThirtyEight’s Player Similarity score has a lot of players who recovered from ACL injuries on their list. Both Kristaps Porzingis and Nerlens Noel bounced back from injuries.

    Isaac certainly has the shot-blocking ability that Noel showed throughout college. And he is certainly considered a unicorn in the same way Porzingis was.

    Porzingis was certainly a better and more polished offensive player when he entered the NBA. He was someone who could block shots, attack the basket and hit from the perimeter. That version of Porzingis — the one who averaged 22.7 points per game and shot a 48.9-percent effective field goal percentage in the 2018 season before a torn ACL ended his year early.

    Porzingis has not quite been the same. Like Isaac, he is a bit skinny and lanky and that has made re-injury a major concern. Porzingis has still averaged 20.3 points per game and shot a 52.2-percent effective field goal percentage since returning from injury with the Dallas Mavericks.

    Offensive recovery is certainly possible for Isaac.

    Isaac still has to hope he can be what everyone thought Porzingis could be before his injury. But Porzingis has still struggled with recovering from his injury. And maybe that is a warning.