The Orlando Magic are a young team, and young players need time to develop. Anthony Black was no exception. Not every player is ready to contribute significantly to a good NBA team at 19 years old.
A year later, Anthony Black is still the youngest player on the Magic’s roster but looks much different than he did as a rookie. It seems that a year to develop and a bigger role in his second season were exactly what Black needed to help the Magic.
When the Magic decided not to pursue a point guard over the summer and also did not re-sign Markelle Fultz, everyone knew that someone else had to step up. Most eyes were on Jalen Suggs, but Black also had a role to play.
Fultz was the closest thing the Magic had to a traditional point guard, but he had limitations the organization did not like, mainly his defense and lack of a reliable 3-point shot. Black simply fits the type of player the Magic like better. He is already an intriguing defensive talent and showed flashes of a serviceable 3-point shot, even if it was only on a low volume.
Nevertheless, promoting Black from being an injury replacement at the end of the bench to one of the first guards off the bench put a lot of pressure on Black’s sophomore season.
Two games in, it looks like Black is ready for his new role
The Magic won both of their regular season games so far, and both times, Black and Gary Harris were the first players off the bench. Putting Black in such a prominent position early in the season shows the faith Coach Jamahl Mosley has in the young guard.
So far, he has not disappointed. The Magic needed secondary playmaking and scoring as well as stifling defense off the bench. Black has delivered.
In the Magic’s season opener in Miami, he put up 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. His box score against the Brooklyn Nets looked similar with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He also played by far the most minutes of any bench player and Mosley trusted Black to stay on the court when the game was close.
When Black played as a rookie, his role on the court was limited. The Magic did not expect him to do much, especially offensively. That has changed. Black now has the ball in his hands quite a lot. Two games into the season, he has looked incredibly confident running the second unit, pushing the pace, and even taking the ball to the rim.
The biggest improvement in Black’s game is his playmaking. He totaled nine assists over his first two games but also made several good passes that did not lead to baskets. Last season, Black only dished out four or more assists in six games. Now, that seems to be the new norm.
Black’s improvement has not gone unnoticed outside of Orlando either. The Athletic’s Josh Robbins noted on X that Black made a big jump and “offered a fascinating blend of positional size and court sense.”
While this season is about winning for the Magic, it is also still about development and figuring out what exactly they have to work with. Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the team’s most recent lottery picks, were still somewhat of a mystery. Black is not anymore.
He is a big guard, who can defend, set up his teammates, and develop into a 3-point threat. If he can continue to do what he has shown so far and still continue to develop, he could quickly establish himself as a foundational piece for the Magic’s future.