2023 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Bol Bol needs to make his way

Bol Bol is what the league nowadays calls a unicorn.

He is 7-foot-2, with a 7-foot-8 wingspan. He can dribble and move like a guard. He can shoot and protect the paint. You do not see someone of that size being able to move like that very often.

The only problem with Bol Bol is you do not see him very often at all. Bol’s injury history dates all the way back to college where he played nine games until getting a foot injury that would end his season and college career.

The young center had so much potential he still got picked as the 44th pick in 2019 despite the injury. Since then his career has been riddled with injuries and he has not yet been able to really showcase his skills.

The 22-year-old center has been in the league for four years and has played in 53 of the possible 328 games he could have played in. He has shown some promise in the minutes he has got, he just has not played very much and in most of the games he did play, he was not in for too long.

All he needs is a chance and maybe he can prove himself into one this upcoming season if he can show that, despite being injury-riddled, he is still improving and working on his game like a 22-year-old player should be.

Bol Bol is making up for some lost time. The Orlando Magic’s new acquisition has dealt with injuries. But his promise is evident as the team looks for a hidden gem.

Offensively his game is very polished. For someone of his size, he can really do it all.

The other parts of his game are certainly promising. In a small sample, he shot 80 percent from within 10 feet in the last season he played. He has a great touch around the rim, he is a lob threat and he can score in the post.

Not only that but he can drive to the hoop. He is very quick and he can dribble like a guard. He even takes the ball up the court after getting a defensive rebound and looks like a natural doing it.

He is a player who is very capable of going coast to coast which is crazy for someone who is taller than 7-feet. He can take people off the dribble and he is quicker than most opposing centers guarding him.

The ones he is not quicker than he is mostly taller and longer so he can shoot over them or take a floater. And that is his greatest attractor.

Outside of the paint, he is a very good shooter.

He is a career 37.8-percent three-point shooter. This percentage was even tanked a little because he only shot 1 for 4 in the last season he played in. Before the last season he played in he was a 41-percent three-point shooter.

He has only made 14 career threes but this is not because he can not shoot but because he has not had the opportunity to shoot too much. He makes the ones he does take at a high rate.

His offensive skill goes beyond scoring. He is a great passer and he has great vision. The stats do not show it as he only has 18 career assists. But the assists he does make are very skilled and tough passes, that are highlight-level assists.

He often blows by defenders causing a rotation or draws a double team due to his size. He does a great job of finding an open teammate when a rotation or double comes.

He can be that unicorn because of all these skills. Injuries have kept everything from cementing itself. So these flashes could become production given the opportunity.

His last really good offensive trait is offensive rebounding. He is good at getting in position and fighting for offensive rebounds. He has the size to be a presence in the paint and can get easy putbacks, even if he is not physically imposing beyond his wingspan.

The question with Bol is getting him on the floor. That has prevented anyone from seeing his full offensive potential.

He has never played more than 32 games in a season so he has never gotten a chance to get into a rhythm or really get used to playing out there. Every time he comes back he plays very little and then when he gets injured he never gets the chance to readapt.

Still, it is hard to debate the potential when he has gotten playing time.

In the 13 games he has played nine or more minutes, he has averaged about 7.0 points per game. But remember this is with limited season time, coming off constant injuries and mostly meaningless minutes.

He averages 9.3 points per game in the games he has played 20 minutes or more in. But that is only three games.

The main point is with more time he gives more production. He has even proven this in his last preseason game.

Against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, he had seven points, seven rebounds, two offensive rebounds, a beautiful assist to a cutting Kevon Harris, two steals and a +4 plus-minus. He did this all in just 15 minutes on 3-for-4 shooting.

If anything, fans have been begging Bol Bol to shoot more and display the hype that Terrence Ross and other teammates has been giving him from practice.

He showed he can make the Magic better when he is on the court and showed a full display of his offensive skill set.

He did all this while playing amazing defense. This is where he has faced a lot of questions but also shown as much potential.

Defensively, Bol can be just as impactful as he is on offense. One crazy thing about his defense is his ability to guard multiple positions. He can shuffle his feet and guard the perimeter just as well as he can bang with centers down low.

This was shown as he guarded a lot of perimeter shots and drives in the preseason game and played great defense on all of them. There was even one play where Tim Hardaway Jr. drove on Bol Bol from the three-point line and took a driving jumper that resulted in an airball on a great contest from Bol.

Another great part of his game is his paint defense. He is tall and long so he can block a lot of shots on the inside.

Bol likely cannot play the traditional center. The Denver Nuggets tested playing him at small forward to keep from banging with bigger players. He could add some weight once he gets a healthy season under his belt.

He sometimes gets bullied inside by stronger centers but even then he can sometimes recover with his length and athletic abilities.

But he is still a great defensive rebounder, capable of grabbing the ball off the glass and going up the floor in transition. He is also a great shot blocker, that is his best defensive trait.

There is not much you can ask Bol to do better on the defensive side except to stay healthy and consistent.

He needs to prove to the Magic he deserves his first real shot at consistent minutes.

Bol can really do it all and has the potential to be the best center on the roster. He just needs to stay healthy and get a chance. If he can produce in some consistent minutes he may find himself in the rotation.

There is nothing on the basketball court he cannot do. That is rare in itself. Not to mention his size and versatility.