At 6-foot-7 with legitimate point guard skills, Anthony Black is the perfect NBA backcourt prospect in the modern game. This is exactly why he was selected No. 6 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.
With that in mind, the 19-year-old hasn’t gotten much playing time early in the season, taking the court in just four of Orlando’s six contests thus far. However, when Black has been on the floor, the Magic offense has been spectacular.
While he’s only played 13.6 minutes per game this season, those have been some of the best for Orlando. He’s posted a 42.1 net rating, which is the highest of any rookie that has played at least 30 minutes this season. Furthermore in the 55 total minutes Black has taken the floor this season, an offensive rating of 136.8 has been achieved.
Again, this is an extremely small sample size. But it does give a glimpse into just how much of an offensive catalyst the Magic guard could be. As a crafty scorer with the ability to also distribute the ball as a natural point guard, he does a variety of teams to help his team on that end of the floor. In the possessions he's been a part of this season, the Magic simply have great offensive success.
In Orlando’s most recent game — which was Black’s best game of the year and his only contest with 30 minutes played this season — the Magic beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 19 points. This was his first time being in the starting lineup and it went extremely well.
“He wasn’t afraid," said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley after that game. "I think that’s the thing about that young man we said from the beginning: he embraces moments. He’s got a high basketball IQ. He’s tough and he’s a team guy. He’s willing to make the easy play, the easy pass, and the right decision. I think those are the things that stand out the most - his maturity level for a young man in his rookie year.”
As the team moves forward, expect the rookie guard to continue integrating more into the regular rotation. He’s simply too good to not be on the floor despite being a first-year player.
More must-reads: