The Orlando Magic had one first round pick and No. 25 in the 2025 NBA Draft, and they used that pick to select Jase Richardson from Michigan State. The pick is significant not only because of his talent, but because his father Jason played for the Magic during his NBA career. The Magic had actually targeted Jase Richardson with the No. 16 pick in the NBA Draft before trading it away, as per Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire.

“We actually brought Jase in to look at with the 16th pick. Throughout the process, you never know how these drafts are going to go,” Magic executive Jeff Weltman said after the draft. “We were wondering if he could get into our range, and here we are. This is how the draft works, it’s all a matter of what teams need at what position, what they’re looking for. Jase for us, fits a lot of needs.”

The Magic opted to trade the No. 16 pick in the draft to the Memphis Grizzlies in a deal that brought Desmond Bane to Orlando. The Magic sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four unprotected first round picks to the Grizzlies in the trade.

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With Richardson, the Magic are getting a talented scoring guard, albeit a little undersized, who has a knack for creating his own shot. He appeared in 36 games, including 15 starts, at a little over 25 minutes per game in his lone season at Michigan State. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists with splits of 49.3 percent shooting from the field, 41.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 83.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Richardson’s father Jason played two seasons for the Magic from 2010-2012. He was originally acquired by the team in a trade with the Phoenix Suns ahead of the 2009-2010 season. Despite signing a four-year contract extension with the Suns in 2011, the team opted to trade Jason to the Philadelphia 76ers the following offseason.

Following the Bane acquisition, some feel the Magic took a leap towards becoming a contender. As a team on the upswing, Richardson landed in a solid spot.