It is a small thing. Just a change of designation on an injury report. But it said something very big.
On the injury report ahead of the Orlando Magic's game Friday against the New York Knicks, Paolo Banchero was still listed as OUT. But the reason mattered.
It was no longer because of a torn right oblique. Banchero, at least officially, was out with "return to competition reconditioning." That was a visible and now official step closer for Banchero to return to the court.
It is a relief to be inching this much closer to his return.
"I'm starting to go full speed, closing out, dribbling, doing stuff under fatigue so I can get body conditioned," Banchero said before Friday's game against the New York Knicks. "It's a big step I would say. It's been really fun challenging myself. But also getting that feeling back, feeling my skills again, it feels good to be back. I'm looking forward to these next week or two weeks of doing the same thing, ramping up and seeing where I'm at."
Banchero has been taking visible steps toward his return. He was spotted at the Magic's shootaround on Thursday doing more intense running and defensive slide and lateral movement drills. It was more than just stand-still jumpers as his workouts appeared to be getting more intense.
Everyone notices he is doing more. But there is still more for him to do before he gets the clearance to take the court again and rejoin the grind that is the NBA season.
Banchero said he still has not started taking contact or playing 5-on-5. He expects to hit that benchmark soon. He has not even started dunking yet. That too seems to be on the horizon.
There are still steps to go in his return. He still has hurdles to clear. But they are the mini ones, not the big ones. He is not sitting on the sidelines like he was early in the injury.
He has started playing to exhaustion and testing to make sure he can withstand the pounding and fatigue that comes with an NBA game.
Most importantly, Banchero said his oblique injury has fully healed. It is truly about him getting back into game shape.
"My legs feel great," Banchero said before Friday's game. "That's the one encouraging thing for me, my legs feel amazing. Obviously, my injury was upper body so I had a chance to be off my feet. Coming back, you want your legs to be under you. My legs definitely feel very good.
"It's about training my body to be able to take impact in the spot where the muscle was torn. It's healed. Just getting my brain back to taking hits or dealing with that. Whether I experience soreness or a little shock when it does get contact, my brain being able to overcome that."
Perhaps that mental hurdle is the biggest. After being out so long, there is a mental hurdle to trust that the injury will not be reaggravated by playing. That is likely the final step to his full recovery. And one that will be a process for him even after he returns to the court.
Teammates seem eager for Banchero to recover
Jalen Suggs was doing a media gaggle during a practice earlier this week and was visibly watching Paolo Banchero go through his workout behind them and said it brought joy to see Banchero out on the floor. Suggs was one of several Magic players who stopped to watch Banchero's workout after shootaround Thursday before leaving the practice court.
"It's very encouraging to see the way in which he is working, to see his conditioning start to slowly ramp up," coach Jamahl Mosley said before Friday's game. "It's good to see him. You see the guys supporting him as they are watching him go through his workouts. It's good for the guys, I can tell you that right now."
The Magic have played well in Banchero's absence, establishing themselves as one of the best defensive teams in the league. They have gone 16-12 since Banchero's injury was announced on Oct. 31.
Orlando's offense has cratered though.
The Magic have posted a 108.2 offensive rating in Banchero's absence. The team had a 111.8 offensive rating in the five games Banchero played. That offensive rating would leave the Magic at 10th for the whole season.
In five games to start the season, Banchero averaged 29.0 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game and 5.6 assists per game. He shot 49.5 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from three. With a 50-point game under his belt, Banchero seemed to be leaping to true superstardom before the injury pushed him to the sidelines.
With how strong Orlando's defense can be, that offensive boost from Banchero would be huge in the team's playoff chase.
"I think guys are stepping up," Banchero said before Friday's game. "Guys are out there playing free, playing together. I think we're keeping up our standard of how we want to play on defense. Not really having much drop-off there. We're giving ourselves a chance to win every game."
There is still more than half of the season remaining. The Magic still find themselves in fourth in the Eastern Conference with some cushion. They are still in position to achieve their preseason goals even with the major absences they have faced.
The Magic have survived without Banchero. More than survived, they have thrived.
Still, it is clear how much they need their star player. And anticipation is now rising as his return gets closer. Everyone can sense how close he is to his return.
This change in his designation and the visible ramping up of his workouts is a sign of how close he is.
Nobody can wait for the return—most of all Banchero himself.
"I've been trying to get back since I first went out," Banchero said before Friday's game. "Now I think it's going to be the fun part of getting back into actually playing. I feel like I have been showing up to the arena just to watch for a long time now. I'm just going to be excited to be suiting up to warm up and play and be out there with the team. There have been some fun games I've had to sit and watch. Just trying to make up for some lost time when I get back."
Banchero has a lot of time to make up for. And soon, he can get back to that work in a game. It will just take a little more patience.