The Magic Insider

As Banchero's Long-Awaited Return Looms, Magic Players Are Buzzing

After missing two-plus months, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero returned to practice as a full participant Wednesday. His status on the team injury report has been upgraded to questionable.

Mason Williams

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) warms up before a game against the Indiana Pacers at Kia Center.
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) warms up before a game against the Indiana Pacers at Kia Center. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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ORLANDO, Fla. – More than two months since he tore an oblique muscle, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was a full participant in Wednesday's practice.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said that the All-Star forward's latest progress is "part of the steps" toward his return. How he responds will continue to be monitored into Thursday.

For the first time in 34 games, Banchero was listed as questionable on the team injury report ahead of the Magic's Thursday night matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the team hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, a league source told Magic on SI that the team will factor in the back-to-back schedule before deciding on Banchero's status for Thursday.

Regardless, the Magic know their leading scorer's return is close and that likelihood generated quite the buzz throughout AdventHealth Training Center on Wednesday.

"The energy he brings to this group," Mosley said when asked about what stood out to him about Banchero's presence at practice. "The confidence he gives this group in so many ways as well. It's just good to have him on the floor. ... The more we can start piecing guys back together with this group is what we're looking forward to."

The Magic have maintained that, even without Banchero, Franz and Moe Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and other players going in and out of the lineup with injuries, they have enough to compete. That belief has helped Orlando maintain its standing in the top half of the Eastern Conference.

"In general, even the last couple days he's been practicing, he brings that... aura around the team," Goga Bitadze said. "That helped us in New York as well. We see him working the last couple days. So, it gives us that confidence that he's going to be back and we're going to start winning more games."

"It's a big relief just to have him healthy," said veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. "Having him healthy, 100 percent, is great."

Added Caldwell-Pope: "I'm truly excited, we're all excited. I'm starting to find a little rhythm, so just having him back would be even better because that opens up the space a little bit more for me to get shots. It'll be a lot more wide-open shots, so I'm looking forward to it."

Banchero's injury interrupted his projected track to superstardom.

He was the No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year, then the youngest NBA player to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists. He had a dominant playoff debut in a seven-game series with Cleveland, then posted the NBA's first 50-point performance of 2024-25 just four games into this season.

And despite playing only five games, Banchero is fourth among East frontcourt players in the first returns for All-Star voting.

That's the player who may rejoin the Magic this week, but a hero's welcome isn't something that Mosley believes Banchero is after.

"I think he just wants to walk back in with no fanfare, just being who he has been on the sideline, communicating with [and] talking to guys, talking to coaches," Mosley said. "I mean, that's who he is. Not necessarily trying to be celebrated, because this is the group that they are — regardless of if you're playing or you're not. These guys are all treating each other the same."

When he's ready, however, the Magic become a more realistic threat to the East's top flight of contenders.

Banchero is their ultimate ceiling-riser.

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

  • PAOLO A FULL PARTICIPANT AT WEDNESDAY'S PRACTICE: Banchero was back as a participant in practice on Wednesday as his return nears. CLICK HERE
  • WCJ 'GETTING [HIS] SWAG BACK': Wendell Carter Jr.'s role has fluctuated so far in his seventh NBA season, but he's "starting to get [his] swag back." CLICK HERE
  • FRANZ'S PATIENCE PIVOTAL AS HE PROVIDES INJURY UPDATE: A little over four weeks after Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner tore his right oblique, he told locker room reporters that his status is "a weird spot" to be in: feeling better but knowing he must be patient in his recovery process. CLICK HERE
  • PAOLO, NOW 'HEALED,' GETTING CLOSER TO RETURN: After his torn right oblique has now fully healed, the Magic star is hoping to return back to the court with Orlando soon. CLICK HERE
  • BANCHERO, FRANZ CRACK TOP 10 IN ALL-STAR VOTE RETURNS: The Orlando Magic's star frontcourt duo appeared in the top 10 of the first returns for NBA All-Star fan voting Thursday. CLICK HERE
  • MAGIC'S 2024-25 SCHEDULE: See the complete slate for the Orlando Magic in 2024-25 and all the details – dates, locations, TV, tip times, and more – that you need to know. CLICK HERE

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