The Orlando Magic tipped off the 2025-26 preseason with a 126-118 victory over the Miami Heat in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Orlando's first-round selection, Jase Richardson, stood out with his performance.
Newly acquired guard Tyus Jones got the start ahead of Jalen Suggs, who's still making a full recovery from his arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
Richardson looked poised and ready for the moment in his first NBA minutes, and the Magic may have to reconsider their depth chart going forward.
Jase Richardson's performance
Richardson came off the bench alongside other players, including Anthony Black, Jonathan Isaac, Goga Bitadze, and Jamal Cain, and was by far the biggest standout.
Jase got off to a slow start in this game, scoring zero points and missing all four field goal attempts in the first half. But in the third quarter, Richardson found a groove and was able to fully settle into the game.
In the third quarter alone, Richardson would score 13 points going blow-for-blow with the Heat, and he looked like the combo scoring guard that the Magic envisioned he could be when they drafted him earlier this summer.
"I think in the second half the game was just kinda slowing down for me, honestly," Richardson said of his performance. "Just going out there making simple reads. I think first half, I was trying to rush things a little bit, but I've gotta learn different ways to get comfortable."
Richardson ended the evening recording 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while shooting five of 11 from the floor and a perfect three of three from distance. Richardson admitted there were some nerves in his first few minutes on the floor, which is expected for any young player making their debut.
"It was great, honestly, a little bit nervous in the beginning, but I feel like that's normal for everybody," Richardson said. "Just super blessed to be out there and super blessed to be able to play this game."
Coaching staff impressed with Jase
Jase Richardson was drafted to not only help the Magic on the offensive side of the ball, but to potentially be a replacement for Anthony Black if he doesn't take that year three leap or Tyus Jones, who's on a one-year deal.
Richardson not only impressed the fans in his debut, but Jamahl Mosley was very fond of his performance.
"There's just a level of confidence that he possesses reading the game, recognizing what guys are doing and how they're playing with him," Mosley said of Richardson. "His speed is such an advantage for him, but then the other side of it is we talked all the time about how inquisitive he is — that showed up tonight with his basketball IQ in a lot of these situations."
Although Jase may not be the plus defender that Black is on the perimeter, there's no denying the offensive firepower Richardson possesses and how much of a positive impact he could make on this team.
If Jase continues to perform well in the preseason and into the early parts of the regular season, it's going to be hard to justify him not playing when the Magic need as much floor spacing and shooting as possible. Richardson is already forcing the coaching staff to make some difficult decisions.