Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero will miss his team’s game Friday against the Brooklyn Nets with a strained left groin suffered against the Knicks.
Banchero underwent an MRI following the game which confirmed the team’s diagnosis. Orlando will rest their star player vs. the lowly Nets who enter the game 1-10 on the season. However how much time he will miss beyond Friday night’s contest remains to be seen.
The club stopped short of providing any kind of timeline for Banchero’s return to play, stating only that he would be evaluated at a later date and monitored to see how he responds to treatment. The 23 year old was limited to just 46 games in 2024-25 due to injury, which means the team will likely take an extra cautious approach with the former number 1 overall draft pick.
Banchero initially tried to play through the injury in his team’s 124-107 victory over New York, but the team could see he was in visible discomfort, and pulled him from the game shortly thereafter.
“There was a moment he was going up and down the court, I think it was a quick turn and then I just saw him pause for a second,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley told reporters. “I looked at him just to try to see where he was with it and then I got him out of there before anything changed.”
Banchero is currently averaging 21.7pts/8.7reb/4.1ast per contest with the Magic this season. He’s also shooting a career best .461 from the field, and getting to the line at the highest rate of his young career, seeing 9.3 free throw attempts per night.
Orlando will play their NBA Cup group stage game vs. Brooklyn without Banchero Friday, but could also be without him for their trio of Western Conference games vs. Houston, Golden State, and the Clippers from Sunday to Thursday as well.
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