5 Orlando Magic players who improved the most
2. Mo Bamba
Going into this season with a new head coach and a healthy offseason, eyes were on how Mo Bamba was going to perform this year.
Bamba has not been disappointing in his new opportunity. He has shown growth on the stat sheet, and even by using the eye test, it is clear that Bamba has taken a jump forward.
With more minutes, it was expected for Bamba’s stats to increase as he did in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. But his efficiency also increased from the prior year.
Entering Thursday’s game, his overall field goal percentage stayed the same at 47-percent, but he increased his three-point percentage from 32.2-percent to 37.6-percent and increased his free throw percentage from 68.2-percent to 78.6-percent. Bamba also increased his total effective field goal percentage from 53.5 to 56.1-percent.
Bamba has grown on the defensive end of the ball as the year as well. Bamba has still managed to block 1.7 shots per game. At the same time, he has improved on his decision-making regarding when to go for blocks and when to simply contest to stay in position as a defender and as a rebounder.
Going forward, Bamba needs to improve his strength to guard the best centers in the league such as Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic. But as Bamba was working to improve his stamina post-COVID, it was going to be difficult to maintain strength.
Bamba has made jumps this season, which can be evidence to believe he can take another healthy offseason and improve himself to reach the next level.