Early in the first quarter of Friday's World Cup qualifying game, Goga Bitadze was trailing the play as Georgia ran the break. They initiated a drive and kicked it back to Bitadze as he hit the 3-point line.
He pulled up for the shot and drained it, eliciting the line from the broadcaster, "big men shoot threes in FIBA!"
He might as well have been speaking directly about Bitadze. It was only a year ago at Eurobasket that Bitadze teased an improved outside jumper -- making eight of 22 from deep in Georgia's surprising quarterfinal run at Eurobasket. It had everyone excited for change with Bitadze and that he could add a new dimension to his game.
Bitadze can and still does all the usual things. That part has not changed.
He is a shot-blocking and rim-protecting presence. He will still gobble up rebounds and score around the basket. He is a lob and dump-off threat underneath the basket.
He had 23 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 101-74 win over Montenegro. This came after a July qualifying window in which he put in a more pedestrian eight points and 11 rebounds against Ukraine and four points and five rebounds against Spain.
His 2026 season with the Orlando Magic followed the familiar patterns.
He was a strong shot blocker in the limited minutes he got. But he lacked consistency on offense. The 3-point shot never arrived -- just 11 attempts, with two makes. It was the same old, same old for Bitadze.
Eventually he settled in as the backup center with Moe Wagner struggling to find his footing after returning from his torn ACL. But Bitadze also never quite broke out. He remained a scavenger and a solid drop defender. But nothing quite stood out about him. He became a bit forgotten in the Playoffs.
This season brings the same battle for Bitadze. He is still trying to turn the potential of his defense into something more tangible. He is again battling to be more than the fill-in starter and gain a more permanent role in the rotation.
With Nikola Vucevic now in the fold -- he retired from FIBA play in the July qualifying window and did not play for Montenegro in Friday's game -- there is competition again for backup center. And entering the final year of his contract, Bitadze needs to show he can be a whole lot more to get his opportunity.
Bitadze's potential and promise
Goga Bitadze has been a strong find for the Orlando Magic when they signed him to a minimum contract in the 2023 season. He quickly proved his value as a better rim protector than they had on the roster.
He really emerged in the 2024 season when he stepped in as a starter for Wendell Carter when Carter faced injuries. Bitadze has been reliable to fill in those minutes. When given the time, he has produced some solid numbers.
That was the story with Bitadze in each of the last three years.
Last year, Bitadze averaged 5.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and 1.0 block per game in 15.2 minutes per game, roughly the same as he played during the 2024 season. Per 36 minutes, Bitadze averaged 13.9 points and 11.9 rebounds. Those were the best per 36 minute marks in his time with the Magic.
This is who Bitadze is. When given time and a bit of a leash, he will put together the stats and box score lines that have him in the conversation to gain more minutes and eventually start.
Bitadze's real value is that he is a strong shot blocker. He had a team-best 52.1 percent defensive field goal percentage at the rim last year (yes, even better than Jonathan Isaac, who logged in at 53.0 percent, second best on the team).
Bitadze remained extremely valuable because of that. That element of his game is something the Magic do not have from anyone else. And for that reason Bitadze will have a place for this team.
But still, a lot has been left to be desired. The Magic have been hoping for an evolution.
Will Bitadze evolve?
Goga Bitadze has been a luxury as a third center.
He is a great screener. He rolls hard to the rim. And he can finish above it.
He can gobble up offensive rebounds and dominate around the basket. Even without a three-point shot, Bitadze gives the team some vertical spacing. And that also helps him be a defensive presence.
Still, Bitadze has not seemingly put all the pieces of his talent together. He still has not been a perfect player. And he is prone to mistakes that left him in the doghouse under Jamahl Mosley in critical moments.
Bitadze is one-dimensional on offense. His three-point development in FIBA is tantalizing, but it has never translated.
He also gets emotional and lets mistakes compound. He will chase blocks and be out of position, hurting him because he lacks the versatility to switch onto the perimeter, a key touchstone in Mosley's defensive schemes.
In the Playoffs, Bitadze averaged only 13.8 minutes per game, averaging 2.8 points per game.
The Magic still had a 111.0 defensive rating when Bitadze was on the floor, among the best on the team. He was not a drain on that end. The Playoffs saw that improve to 94.2. But the offense became a bigger drain. The Detroit Pistons knew they could ignore him and keep bottling up the paint.
For a team searching for some offensive spark, the inability to rely on Bitadze for more than scraps around the basket became an issue.
It is why Nikola Vucevic is favored to take the backup center role. Orlando needs his shooting and spacing. Vucevic is far more valuable than a minimum contract.
Bitadze will again be an injury fill-in, even though he has proven he should gain trust to be at least the backup center.
Bitadze will get his opportunity at some point in the season. He always does and he always performs well enough when his number is called.
In a long 82-game season, everyone will get a chance to play meaningful minutes.
The question is whether Bitadze can evolve his game and make a bigger impact.
The Magic will have training camp to sort through that. Sean Sweeney will have his preferences for what he wants to see in a center. That too will go into how much time Bitadze will get.
Bitadze's game must continue to evolve. He cannot be the same player. It appears as training camp approaches that he will be stuck in the same role.
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