With Banchero, Wagner Sidelined, Magic Fast-Track da Silva's NBA Education

Season-altering injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have forced the Orlando Magic to rely more than anyone anticipated on rookie Tristan da Silva. He's proving a fast learner.

Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) reacts after a dunk in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – When the Orlando Magic selected 23-year-old Tristan da Silva in the NBA Draft, he became the franchise's ready rookie.

He was the right blend of fit and need — a high-IQ spot shooter with solid defensive instincts and positional size. For a team with lots of young players to develop, finding plug-and-play talent in the latter half of the draft was "a good day's work." It helped that he was a Colorado Buffalo, too — just like his new head coach.

da Silva's NBA debut came in garbage time of the Magic's opening-night win over Miami. As a fringe second-stringer, he didn't appear in the next four games (he was unavailable Oct. 26 at Memphis with an illness). In late October, the Magic's season and da Silva's role took an abrupt turn.

Leading scorer Paolo Banchero tore his right oblique muscle. (He has been out ever since.) Suddenly, the Magic had 36 minutes to fill on the wing nightly, and da Silva's number was called off the bench to help that effort. On Nov. 1 at Cleveland, da Silva scored his first career bucket and poured in 17 points in 20 minutes.

From that point, he has been the Magic's first choice to join the starting five. He made 13 consecutive starts until Wendell Carter Jr. came back from left foot plantar fasciitis, then picked up Goga Bitadze's minutes when he was a late scratch in New York. Now, da Silva is back in the starting five after Franz Wagner joined Banchero on the sidelines with the same long-term injury.

"I'm just trying to stay steady with it," da Silva said, assessing the first third of his rookie season. "The learning is still pretty obvious. There's still some stuff that I just have to get adjusted to, and most of that is just being out there, actually going through the experience and going through the reps in game situations.

"I feel really happy that I've gotten the chance to play a lot and play some really big minutes in close games and stuff like that. I feel like I've earned a certain amount of trust from the coaches [and] my teammates to be out there. I'm just trying to stay at it, keep working on my game, and figure it out on the fly."

da Silva's performance against the Knicks on Sunday night was the latest benchmark in his development. The rookie recognized that the Magic needed a scoring punch and he came through with a career-high 20-point outburst. In an otherwise poor game from the Magic offense, only Moe Wagner (32 points) outscored da Silva.

"I thought Tristan did some very good things," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Sunday night. "I think he was aggressive in the pick-and-roll, I thought he stepped into his shot with confidence [and] the guys were looking for him. His ability to run the floor, push the break, attack the basket the right way — whether he got the call or not, attacking the rim is one thing. But I like his aggression in this situation."

Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) dunks the ball against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the first quarter at Kia Center. / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

"I feel like sometimes, I'm kind of letting my defender off the hook by playing a little bit more passive and just moving the ball," da Silva said Sunday. "So I've kind of had that goal for me, especially these last couple of games, to really be aggressive and try to attack."

That was something Banchero called upon in preseason: for da Silva to become "more assertive" and find more comfort in hunting mismatches. Talking to Magic on SI during the team's five-game Northeast trip earlier this month, Banchero said he's liked what he's seen out of da Silva.

"He's just ready to go every time he subs in," Banchero said. "Even when he's not hitting shots, he's still being solid defensively, still moving the ball, not making that many mistakes. That's what you really like to see out of rookies. Sometimes, coming in your first year, you can be overwhelmed at times. Even in some of his rougher games, he's still been really composed, calm and cool. Having that demeanor, it takes you a long way in this sport.

"I think he kind of has that trait where he doesn't get rattled ... I think as the year goes on, he'll continue to be a piece."

"Big-time player."

Goga Bitadze on Tristan da Silva 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/DtloPLeLUK

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 18, 2024

While da Silva himself said he hasn't yet had the chance to share the floor with Banchero, the Magic's former No.1 pick is always sharing his insights when da Silva or anyone else comes to the bench. Learning from someone who's played at such a high level is "always good," da Silva said.

Earning time in the Magic rotation — whether da Silva starts or not — is predicated on defense. That was the focus of his training camp work and it's carrying over into the season.

"I think for any rookie coming in, just learning and figuring out the pace of the game [and] learning the style of play of different guys," Mosley said. "Jalen Brunson is not an easy matchup to switch on no matter who you are. Your ability to sit down and guard — and do it without fouling — is a tall task.

"I think he's continuing to learn that and how to guard 1 through 4 because that's what's going to be asked of him at times. As the pace of the game changes for him and he starts to see it, register it, and it starts to slow down, I think those are going to be great qualities that he'll continue to possess and gain."

Over the summer, Orlando was in a unique position to acquire win-now players from a variable draft pool. As the Magic have endured injuries and adversity, they've found themselves in a unique position without their two best players.

With da Silva, the Magic have a unique rookie to help them remain competitive.

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