Orlando Magic players and coaches love to talk about Caleb Houstan.
Even as he struggled to find his place in the team's rotation, players admire his work ethic. They told everyone who would listen that he was the team's hardest worker. He lived in the gym.
Coach Jamahl Mosley has often called him "The Machine" because he is quiet and just ducks his head and works.
After Saturday's game, Paolo Banchero joked Caleb Houstan does not even have many clothes besides the free team-issued gear he gets. But that speaks to the obsession everyone sees from him.
Houstan is constantly working to make his mark and be ready when his time to play comes.
That time has arrived at long last.
His 6-for-7 shooting performance against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday has continued a run of strong shooting performances in the last two weeks. He has taken his place in the Magic rotation. And Houstan, who was drafted as a shooter, is finally playing with the kind of confidence and rhythm that made him one of the top picks of the second round in 2022.
"I think his consistent work ethic has helped him," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday's win. "He's just one of the hardest workers we have. He stays consistent with that whether he is playing two minutes or 22 minutes, he's going to be the same. He's steady, he is defending, offensively he is moving and shifting the spots where guys are going to find him. That work ethic has paid dividends for him."
Houstan finding consistency
Caleb Houstan has struggled for consistency throughout his career. He was at the end of the bench, brought in as a sharpshooter or a spot starter throughout the first two seasons of his career.
This year, Houstan was mostly out of the rotation until the last two weeks.
He is averaging 3.7 points per game. But he is now shooting a career-best 39.7 percent from three. In the last two weeks, since entering the rotation against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he is averaging 8.0 points per game and shooting 62.5 percent from three (20 for 32).
Houstan is exclusively a 3-point shooter—134 of his 154 field goal attempts this year are threes (87.0 percent) and 463 of his 542 career attempts are threes (85.4 percent). He has famously not made a dunk in his three-year career.
But for a Magic team starving for shooting, they will take all the floor spacing they can get.
The biggest asset Houstan has brought is confidence and vibes. He has made more than three 3-pointers three times in the last eight game. For a team that is last in 3-point percentage, that kind of volume shooting with efficiency is invaluable.
"It's been feeling good making shots," Houstan said after Saturday's win. "I think when anyone makes shots, everyone is happy and it's a good vibe."
The impact of a volume shooter
The Orlando Magic have undoubtedly started hitting shots. In the last eight games, the Magic have been shooting 35.5 percent from three. That is still in the bottom 10 in the league, but is far better than their usual 31.3 percent from three.
Even that little bit has been a refreshing change for the Magic.
In the last eight games, Orlando has a 114.6 offensive rating over their 108.5 season average.
The Magic have a 114.7 offensive rating with Houstan on the floor. He has at least nominally added something offensively to the team. The team has a team-high 55.5 percent effective field goal percentage with him on the floor in that time.
When Houstan shares the floor with Banchero in the last eight games, the Magic have a 126.8 offensive rating.
Houstan's shooting has really helped create some space for the team to work.
"I think he's just being consistent," Paolo Banchero said after Saturday's win. "He's always consistent, no matter if he is playing or not playing. Whether he is in or out of the rotation, he's always showing up and getting his work in. The coaches know they can put him in at any time and he'll be ready. His teammates know that as well. Not really a surprise, every time he shoots it it has a good chance of going in. He does all the other things well too."
That has been how the coaching staff has used Houstan. He has been their reliable player when they needed to fill minutes. But he has rarely had this much playing time or been this important to the team's operations.
They have rarely leaned on him to do this much.
But the Magic have always known they could turn to him when this time came for him. He has been reliable as a plug-and-play player. But rarely has he been in the rotation.
The work is paying off
Now Caleb Houstan is getting that chance. All that work is paying off. And the Magic are feeling all that work come to the surface. Everyone is happy to see him make the most of this chance.
"He's been working so hard," Goga Bitadze said after Saturday's win. "I always wanted to say this, I've been around a lot of hard-working guys, but this guy is inspirational. You see him every day there. It doesn't matter the circumstances, you land at 3 a.m. and this guys is in there at 8 a.m. It's truly inspirational for this young man. He pushes me. He doesn't realize he pushes me to go in and work. Shout out to this guy for coming in and helping us win those games."
Houstan is often quiet—as you can tell by that quote when asked about himself earlier in this post. Even when Bitadze said this about him, he mused that Bitadze only knows Houstan is in the gym early because Bitadze was there too.
Houstan is not looking for the spotlight. It never seems he is. He is working for the next opportunity. And even when he had some false starts or had some opportunities he did not take full advantage of, he kept working.
Now he is getting his chance again. At a critical point in the Magic's season. He is making good on that work at long last.