Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic had a truly terrific season last year and was rewarded by being named to his first-ever All-Star team in the Eastern Conference. Vucevic believes his presence on the Magic can help Mo Bamba next season.
Bamba had an uninspiring first season last year, but the 21-year-old is glad to have Vucevic back even if it means less playing time for him. Beyond that, according to a story by Josh Robbins of The Athletic,
Per Robbins’s story:
“I think that sometimes having a guy in front of you — a veteran — can help you because you can learn from him and it kind of gives you time to get into the NBA style of play and become accustomed to the NBA,” Vucevic said. “I think that it’s going to help him maybe also mentally because he knows he won’t have to rush and won’t be thrown into things. He’ll have time to develop. He’ll have time to reach his potential. So I think it’s going to be good for him [Bamba]. I think also that we have a good relationship. We work well together. He’s a guy that wants to learn. I’ll try to help him as much as I can, and I think it’s going to help a lot (with) me being there. And who knows? Maybe we’ll also be able to play together on the court sometimes.”
The 28-year-old Switzerland native produced sterling efficiency numbers as well as impressive per-game stats of 20.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per Basketball Reference.
Vucevic was handsomely rewarded this offseason by the Magic, who re-signed the seven-foot big man to a huge 4-year/$100 million contract this offseason. Though the Magic already had a wide variety of big men in the pipeline (including 2019 draft pick Chuma Okeke), Vooch is seemingly set in stone for the team in the long run, which is apparently good news for 2018 draft pick Bamba.
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