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Orlando Magic Missing All-Star Player in NBA Cup Showdown vs 76ers

The Orlando Magic will be down an All-Star against the Sixers.

Justin Grasso

Dec 27, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers small forward Marcus Morris Sr. (5) in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
Dec 27, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers small forward Marcus Morris Sr. (5) in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
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The Orlando Magic suffered a tough injury loss earlier this month. The All-Star forward Paolo Banchero had to go through testing to determine his playing status moving forward.

Unfortunately for Orlando, they didn’t receive favorable results from the testing weeks before their NBA Cup matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Banchero was diagnosed with a torn right oblique. He is sidelined “indefinitely” and won’t be re-evaluated until a four-to-six-week timeline has passed.

This year, the Sixers and the Magic are in the same group for the NBA Cup. Their group stage matchup takes place on Friday, November 15.

As expected, Banchero will not get the nod to play against the Sixers on Friday night.

Since entering the NBA, Banchero hasn’t spent too much time off the court. In two seasons, he made 152 appearances during the regular season. The Magic missed their All-Star just 12 times over the last two seasons. While it’s a small sample size, the Magic have a losing record in Banchero’s absence, winning just 33 percent of those matchups.

Over the last two years, the Sixers have found plenty of success against Orlando. During Banchero’s rookie season, the Sixers won all but one of their matchups against the Magic. Last year, the two teams met three times, and the Sixers swept Orlando.

Past records won’t matter much on Friday when the Magic and the Sixers first meet. The Magic are going to miss the All-Star, but the Sixers have found themselves in the same boat lately, missing Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey.

Fortunately for the Sixers, two of the three All-Stars will be on board Friday night. Maxey joins Banchero on the injury report as he nurses a hamstring strain.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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