Ask anyone on the Orlando Magic about Anthony Black, and you are likely to get the same response and the same encouragement.
To a man, the team urges the young 6-foot-7 guard to be aggressive. When he gets downhill and gets to the basket, they believe no one can stop him. It always seems like a battle for belief with the second-year player.
"When he is aggressive, when he is playing downhill, when he is attacking the basket, when he is rebounding, when he is pushing the break, I think he is hard to guard and hard to stop," coach Jamahl Mosley said after the Orlando Magic's Jan. 12 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. "He's attacking the basket at 6-[foot-]9, getting to the rim all the way. I think he just played tremendous basketball and played the right way. And then he guarded."
Black said he has always believed in himself. He has always believed in his sometimes sketchy shot. But the numbers and the stats do not always suggest that. He has had long stretches where he struggled to find his fit and struggled to contribute.
When pressed into the starting lineup, Black has often faded into the background when surrounded by higher-usage players. It feels often like the Magic are not just trying to tell Black to be aggressive but push him into situations where he can be more aggressive.
Black was an injury replacement for the Rising Stars Game. That speaks to the inconsistency he has played with as the former No. 6 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and how he his struggling to find his role.
But he is deservedly in San Francisco for Friday's game. Black will get to play on the big national stage. It will highlight how important he can be to an up-and-coming Magic team.
The Magic know they can be a more dangerous team with an aggressive Black. They just need him to step out of the shadows.
"That's kind of been for me what I'm trying to do is find some consistency," Black said after the win over the Sixers. "I think that type of aggression is what I'm trying to push for. Obviously, some games it will look different. That kind of attack mentality is something I look to play with moving forward.
"Obviously, games like today and the last couple of games are good steps of growth I feel like. It's just good for confidence, good for rhythm. It's good getting my rhythm back."
Ups and downs
Anthony Black could have just as well been talking about his current run of play as he was a month ago. Black goes through these ups and downs statistically.
For the season, Black is averaging 9.3 points per game and 3.4 assists per game. He is shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 28.2 percent from three. Those numbers show his improvement but also his inconsistency and weaknesses.
Some nights, he looks like a blur running past defenders and scoring at the rim. Other nights, he seems stuck in the corner and invisible on the court.
Black is still fourth on the team in drives per game with 7.7, according to data from Second Spectrum (trailing only the Magic's three core players). Orlando wants him on the ball and wants him to attack. He is fourth on the team in touches per game, but trails the big three by 20-plus touches.
On a team short on offense, Black's shooting remains a big question mark even if he fits perfectly into the team's vision for versatile defenders and jumbo-sized players. Getting offense out of Black has remained the challenge for this team.
"I'm just trying to stay aggressive," Black said after shootaround before Saturday's game against the San Antonio Spurs. "The shot is not really falling. A lot of them feel good. Just trusting my process, trying to get good looks and then just continuing to shoot them and start to knock them down."
Finding and keeping that confidence has been the task. And the Magic always seem to play well and highlight the moments when he is aggressive looking for his shot.
Black took a career-high 18 shots in that win over the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 17 points and dishing out six assists to go with six rebounds. It was the kind of game that showed his potential as a scorer and creator.
It was part of a solid run of play where he averaged 14.0 points per game from Jan. 10 (when Paolo Banchero returned from his injury) until Jan. 23. He started only two of those seven games, showing comfort coming off the bench.
When Jalen Suggs went out with the left quad contusion, the Magic seemingly thought it would be a short-term injury. Black started in his stead and struggled in that role. He averaged 6.8 points per game and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 35.1 percent from the floor during the team's six-game road trip. That included two scoreless games as a starter, including going without a field goal attempt in the loss to the Golden State Warriors.
It was easy to see Black disappear.
He bounced back coming off the bench averaging 13.4 points per game and shooting 54.5 percent in his last five games coming off the bench.
More impressively for him, he is shooting 40.0 percent from three on 3.0 attempts per game. That included scoring 18 points and hitting two of his four 3-pointers in the win over the Charlotte Hornets.
"What I think it really is for him is he can command that second unit," coach Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround before Saturday's game against the Spurs. "I think him being the point in that group gets guys in line where they need to be, put them in place positionally offensively but then defensively being able to climb into the basketball, be aggressive and be the head of the snake of that group. I think that's so important for him and I think he understands that's what we need from him."
The work and confidence are paying off. He just has to continue trusting it to break through. The Magic have found a role that fits him.
The questions ahead
But every moment in the season is an audition. Every player around the league is constantly being evaluated.
These last 26 games for the Orlando Magic are certainly pressure-packed with the Magic trying to fight for playoff positioning. A lot of players are feeling the tension.
Fans continue to discuss the Magic's inactivity at the trade deadline. It is clear with how much the team has struggled that changes are coming on the horizon.
It feels safe to assume that one of the reasons Orlando was unable to get something significant done at this year's trade deadline was because the team was unwilling to part with Anthony Black.
If that is the case, then all eyes will be on Black to finish the season strong and cement his place with the team. That might be unfair to pin all of that on the next 26 games. But one of the bets the Magic made at the deadline was to believe in Black among the other players on the roster.
If the team has found Black's ideal role, Orlando needs to see him thrive to finish the season.
"This is how we understand he can play," Jamahl Mosley said after the Magic's win over the San Antonio Spurs. "With a level of confidence, toughness, grit, determination, getting downhill, stepping into his shot with confidence, guarding multiple players, being able to guard multiple positions and not being afraid. That is the Anthony Black that we know he can be night in and night out."
It is certainly the time for Black to step out of the shadows and assert himself.
That constant reminder is still ringing in his ears. The Magic continue to urge him to be aggressive and confident. When Black plays that way, it is hard not to take notice.