Bol Bol Makes The Orlando Magic a Worthy Watch
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In lieu of doing my annual thanks post I usually do on Thanksgiving, I took the day off to reflect. I am very thankful for so many things, but I wanted to do something a little different, a little off the beaten path from what I normally do. This piece is going to meld the two things together for me.
I love basketball, as you all know very well. I especially love the NBA. In football I prefer college, but the NBA just does it for me. It is also very early in the season, so things are pretty wide open and kind of nuts right now. I like to watch all the teams, and having League Pass makes that a cinch. This means I have been watching a ton of Orlando Magic. Some might say too much.
Orlando is not very good, but they are fun to watch. They fly up and down the floor. They do not play much defense, but their offense is fast and tense. They love to get it up and down, and I love that style of basketball the most. I am currently coaching my 5th grade team to run, run and run some more. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it is a thing of beauty. I feel like that is what the Magic are doing right now. They are just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. They also have a core group of young players and they are a delight to watch. Even when they screw up it is still somehow entertaining. I like guys like Cole Anthony. He is fun and plays a little old school-ish. Franz Wagner is turning out to be a very solid pro on both ends. He is living up to the hype. Paolo Banchero was the correct choice at number 1. He is hurt now, but when he has played, he has looked very legit. He has the tools to be a star. Mo Bamba is playing more like I hoped he would when he first entered the league. He is a rim protector, a decent low post guy and can run for days. Jalen Suggs has looked better this season. Wendell Carter Jr has found a place that has let him figure it out and he looks like he is doing just that. Even Markelle Fultz, when not hurt, has found a style of play that works for him and the team. But the one guy that has impressed me the most, the player I like to watch the most on this team, the whole reason for this blog today, is Bol Bol.
Bol Bol was a very ballyhooed recruit. He was this unicorn that every major program wanted. He finally decided on Oregon. When I first heard of him, then saw him, I was skeptical. But then he played a few games for the Ducks. He was worth the hype. He was blocking shots left and right. He was scoring with ease in the post. He was pulling big guys outside and making threes. I was flabbergasted. I could not believe my eyes. But then he got hurt. He missed most of his freshman season. He then went pro, as expected, but slipped to the second round. The Nuggets drafted him. I liked this pick because he could develop with a very good pro team. He was going to be learning from some of the best. But they never played him. They could not find minutes for him. He'd get in blowouts and show flashes, but nothing was sustainable. He was then traded to multiple teams. He somehow ended up in Orlando before this season started, and I liked it. It reminded me a ton of when they acquired Fultz. Bol Bol was going to get to play, he was going to learn on the fly and the Magic were going to let him be himself. And so far, he has looked pretty wonderful. He is hitting threes. He is grabbing boards. He is blocking shots. He is putting up double doubles with ease. He looks to be having fun. He looks healthy. He looks like he is turning into the unicorn that everyone previously thought he could be.
Lately I have been watching a ton of the French kid, Victor Webanyama, and he is legit. He is going to be a star. But everyone says that no one has ever looked like this kid. Well, and he is not even close to this kid's level, but isn't Bol Bol kind of like the poor man's Webanyama? They both have similar games. The French kid is built better, but Bol Bol has gotten bigger since he entered the league. The French kid and Bol block a lot of shots. They both grab boards. They both can stretch the D. Again, Bol is not the prospect Webanyama is, but he is a very similar player. They have very similar profiles.
All in all, it has been an absolute joy to watch Bol Bol to this point of the season. I hope it sticks. I hope he becomes a regular starter in the NBA. I also hope he stays with this fun young core in Orlando. I feel like this team could be very good in two to three years if they stay put. Until that time comes though, I will sit back and gladly watch Bol Bol do stuff that I have never seen on an NBA floor in my life to this date. He is a fun player to watch.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.