The Philadelphia 76ers' first matchup of the season with the Orlando Magic will be a special one for Mo Bamba. The Sixers' 25-year-old center will be making a return to his very first NBA home.
Bamba was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers at last season's trade deadline but this will be his first time facing the Magic in their arena. In fact, it'll be his first time facing the team that drafted him with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Bamba was sidelined with an ankle injury when the Lakers and Magic faced off in March in Los Angeles.
When asked about his return to Orlando after the Sixers' Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat, Bamba said he's excited to see his former teammates and face them in a game.
“I don’t care about those people…Nah, I'm joking,” Bamba said with a laugh. “That's family over there. I'm probably gonna stop by Jalen Suggs' mom's house tomorrow just to kick it or whatever. But that’s family. Cole [Anthony], Wendell [Carter Jr.], ‘Kelle [Markelle Fultz], those are guys that I grew up with in the league…It’s going to be fun.”
With Joel Embiid again sidelined with an ankle sprain and the Magic possessing a lot of size and physicality, Bamba should see plenty of playing time. He shined on Christmas, scoring 18 points on 7-8 shooting.
Bamba played 266 games for the Magic over four and a half seasons, averaging 7.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 18.3 minutes per game. Orlando developed him behind Nikola Vucevic and made him a starter alongside another young center, Carter, before moving him back to the bench the next season and then trading him to the Lakers in a deal that involved current Sixer Patrick Beverley.
After he was traded, Bamba penned a goodbye note that said he would root for the Magic as long as they weren’t playing the Lakers. It's easy to assume that this is now the case for the Sixers. As he prepares for one of the few games where he isn’t rooting for Orlando, he's still keeping the memories and friendships he made in that time fresh in his head.
“Still in the groupchat,” Mo Bamba said. “Still shooting it. Still making jokes. But it’s kind of bond I think we’ll have for life.”
The Sixers and Magic are third and fourth in the Eastern Conference, respectively, and Philly is looking to win its first game without Embiid this season.
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