Summer League opener proved patience paid off for Jett Howard

On the opening tip-off of the Orlando Magic's Summer League game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, Jay Huff spotted Jett Howard with an angle to the hoop. The 7-foot center did not tip the ball back to open the game, he tipped it forward.

And like a flash, Howard swooped in. He took the ball on the run and finished with a lay-up in the first moments of the game.

It was a quick, decisive move. The kind of quick decision that experience and confidence bring. Howard has been to Summer League before. And he looked like it.

It was not just that move. It was the quick shooting from three, the skill that got Howard picked with the 11th selection in the 2023 NBA Draft. It was there in his long-awaited passing as he feathered a return-the-favor pass to Huff for a dunk on the pick-and-roll. It was there as he found Tristan da Silva spotting up in the corner for three.

Howard is a second-year player and played Friday with the confidence of a veteran. But Magic fans have not seen much of him after he spent a gap year in the G-League.

Still, Howard put all his experience and skill on display in a 106-79 romp over the defending Summer League champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Howard showed his rookie year was not wasted.

"I feel like in the NBA, you always have to prove something," Howard said after Friday's win. "You are judged off your last game. It's never no chill mode. It's always go mode."

Everyone wanted to know what the Magic had in Howard after he spent virtually the entire 2024 season in Osceola in the G-League. The Magic's rookie played the fewest NBA minutes of any Lottery pick in the 2023 Draft. Fans whispered that he was a bust simply because the Magic executed their plan to give him that gap year and did not use him at all in the NBA during his rookie year.

Jett Howard showed out in his first Summer League game

If his first Summer League game is any sign, the Magic may know what they are doing. The young wing shooter might be worth the wait.

Howard put up an impressive stat line, scoring 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. What Magic fans wanted to see was his 5-for-10 shooting from deep. His willingness to shoot and fire away from deep was never in doubt.

Orlando drafted him to be that shooter and give the team some irrational confidence. Coming away with a shooter was almost a requirement with one of the two picks the Magic had in last year's Draft.

But the young forward had something more in him. And Orlando was willing to wait to try to see if he could develop his passing and his defense. As he entered Summer League this year, Howard acknowledged defense was going to be his ticket to see more playing time.

There is clearly some more work to do. But seeing how the rest of his game came together beyond just his shooting shows why the Magic surprisingly took him last year.

Howard, in addition to his shooting, added four assists. He fired that pass to Jay Huff early in the game but also made a nice read to find Tristan da Silva in the corner for a three. He had everything working together to help the Magic run away with the game.

"We talked about and we've been preaching just be aggressive," Magic Summer League coach Lionel Chalmers said after Friday's win. "He makes good decisions. He knows how to pass well. He shoots the ball well. Just be who you are and trust what comes easy to you. He did that today."

On the defensive front, he got outpositioned on a few occasions, but still made some plays, including coming on a trap late in the second quarter that led to a steal and breakaway jam.

Howard showed he is not a secret for the Magic anymore. He is someone who grew in his first year and can do a number of things for them. The question is how much will that knock on the door to a roster spot?

Nobody really knew what the Magic had in Howard after his gap year in the G-League.

Last year, Howard logged only 67 total minutes in the NBA last year, rendering any of his stats in the NBA pretty much moot. His only meaningful playing time came in an early season game against the LA Clippers.

In the Osceola Magic's regular season, Howard averaged 18.5 points per game and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 37.7 percent from three on 9.5 attempts per game.

The Magic expected that kind of shooting and the G-League can be notoriously difficult to judge. The league is not exactly known for its defense. And while it is a competitive league, it is not the NBA. Everyone will still wait to see how things translate to the NBA.

But throughout the offseason, Magic management spoke highly of the experience Howard got and the reps he received. They highlighted his playmaking potential in addition to his shooting. They believed he took some steps forward defensively.

Everyone just had to wait to see how it all came together. Summer League is undoubtedly that first step.

"It was way better than last year's first game, I'll tell you that," Howard said after Friday's game. "It was good. I felt comfortable. Especially with Tristan [da Silva], AB [Anthony Black], they made my life easier. They made it easier to score and get open look and make plays. Tristan just knows how to play as you can see. It's pretty easy out there."

Howard wasn’t the only one who put together a good game

All of Orlando's main players showed out in this Summer League opener.

Black had 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting, showing tons of patience in the paint as he tried to attack off the dribble more. Da Silva looked like he would fit right in with 13 points and 3-for-5 shooting from deep and a few strong defensive plays.

They played about as expected—albeit still very impressively.

"Definitely more confident the second time around," Black said after Friday's game. "Having the first year under my belt made it easier to come in and play more of a commanding role. It went all right."

It was Howard though who stood out with each three he drained and play he made. Maybe that was just a product of expectations and not knowing what to expect from him. Maybe it is that the shooting need is such a massive need for Orlando and so his style of shooting stood out.

Howard though delivered. He delivered in such an emphatic way that it was hard not to take notice.

It put a lot of the doubts and questions about him taking that gap year with Osceola momentarily to rest. It showed the Magic were right to be patient with his development.

Now it feels like Howard can force his way into conversations about the Magic's rotation. He looked confident in his skills, not only as a shooter as he showed last year, but as a playmaker and even as a defender.

That is an important step for the second-year forward as he aims to make his mark.