LAS VEGAS – A fellow New Yorker and someone who has been a friend for a couple of years now, Jonathan Isaac has served as something of a mentor and a sounding board this week for Orlando Magic teammate Mohamed Bamba.

After all, the 6-foot-11 Isaac is entering his second year in the NBA, while the 7-foot Bamba is a rookie going through his first Summer League action in Las Vegas. However, to the 20-year-old, baby-faced Isaac it seems downright strange that he’s being looked to as a leader and a mentor considering just how raw he still is as a professional.

``(Bamba’s) IQ is great, he knows what to do and he’s just a fun kid,’’ Isaac said before quickly catching himself and snickering. ``I call him a kid, but he’s (almost as old) as me.’’

Isaac, Orlando’s No. 6 pick in 2017, won’t turn 21 years old until Oct. 3, meaning he is only seven months older than this year’s No. 6 pick, Bamba. The two of them have known one another since Isaac was growing up in the Bronx and Bamba was in Harlem and they routinely encountered one another on the AAU and high school circuits. All throughout last season – while Isaac was playing for the Magic and Bamba was at the University of Texas – the two of them would text and talk about basketball, life and the struggles that each encountered. Now that they are back together, they are excited about the future that lies ahead.

``I’ve gotten a lot of advice from him,’’ admitted Bamba, who practiced alongside of Isaac for a third and fourth time on Wednesday in the lead-up to Orlando’s first summer game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. ``Obviously, on the court you get a lot of advice in terms of spacing and where to go so that you’re not being blind-sided by anything. But a lot of stuff (from Isaac) comes off the court and things such as your timing of things, your sharpness (in drills) and being punctual. In a lot of ways, he’s giving me the blue print.

``We talk a lot about high/low situations and playing off one another,’’ Bamba added. ``He’s a really good shooter and my jump shot is developing at a constant pace. It’s going to be awesome to play inside/outside with him.’’

The fact that Isaac is doling out advice and being looked to as a mentor speaks volumes about how far he’s come in a year’s time. Twelve months earlier, when the Magic were competing in the Orlando Summer League, Isaac was painfully thin at 210 pounds and he had to check out of his first professional game after just a few seconds because he was hyperventilating. Two games later, he suffered a mild hip injury that knocked him out of the Summer League all together.

Sadly, for the Magic, that would be harbinger of what was to come for much of Isaac’s rookie season. His defensive versatility and high basketball IQ played a major role in Orlando’s promising 9-3 start to the season, but Isaac suffered a devastating ankle injury on Nov. 10 that shelved him for much of the next four months. Another ankle injury, a foot sprain, an illness and a rehab stint in the G League limited him to just 27 NBA games while averaging 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in just 19.9 minutes a game. Isaac, who has spent most of his summer adding some noticeable definition to his frame and growing his game, looks back now at where his game and body were last season and shakes his head.

``Last year’s first day I would say there were more nerves because I was just coming into the league and there were a lot more thoughts going through my head,’’ said Isaac, now closer to 222 pounds. ``Now, it’s just basketball and playing and I’m more comfortable.

``It’s night and day with my comfortability,’’ added Isaac, who has worked four-to-five days a week at the Amway Center since the regular season ended in mid-April. ``Obviously, my strength is there and I’m able to shoot the ball more consistently and handle the ball better. Just my overall game growing and getting stronger has been the key things that have helped me the most.’’

Magic head coach Steve Clifford, who was hired on May 30 to get Orlando back on track following six non-playoff seasons, is eager to work with a raw prospect as talented and hungry as Isaac. When he coached in Charlotte last season, Clifford’s Hornets had to face Isaac just once in four meetings because of the rookie’s many injuries. Clifford has gotten to see far more of Isaac’s abilities over the last three weeks during the workouts in Orlando and Las Vegas and he’s plenty impressed with the growth made so far.

``I think he’s a lot stronger, he feels good and he’s in a very good place right now,’’ Clifford said of the player he plans to use at both the small forward and power forward positions next season. ``He has been very assertive on the floor and he’s on his way to having a very good offseason.’’

Clifford and Isaac have spent several sessions this offseason talking about their goals and expectations. Isaac found out very quickly this week during Summer League practices that while Clifford has a colorful and witty sense of humor off the court, he is all business when he steps between the lines. Isaac and teammates Wes Iwundu and Rodney Purvis found that out the hard way in Tuesday’s first practice when they failed to recall an offensive set that Clifford had installed earlier in the day.

``He’s a serious guy and he’s on you,’’ Isaac said of his new coach. ``He wants to make sure what he is teaching that we’re learning it. If we can’t repeat what he taught us five minutes ago, then it’s a problem and he makes that clear. He’s a straight forward guy, but at the same time he’s genuine and fun to play for.’’

Orlando opens play in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League on Friday against Brooklyn (5 p.m. ET, ESPN 2) on Friday. Orlando also has games against the Memphis Grizzlies (Sunday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN 2) and Phoenix Suns (Monday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN 2) before action switches into a tournament format. Teams are scheduled to play a minimum of five games and could play a maximum of eight games if they reach the championship on July 17.

Isaac has that championship game in his sights, stressing that ``I want to win’’ as his top goal for the week of Summer League. Undoubtedly, Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman and GM John Hammond will be looking for other more specific things out of Isaac, such as whether he’s able to better play through contact and use his added bulk and strength to his advantage.

Also of note, Orlando will be looking to see just how well Isaac and Bamba mesh while they are on the floor together. Bamba has the longest wingspan in NBA history at 7 feet, 10 inches, while Isaac is nearly that long (7 feet, 6 inches) and doctors have said that his growth plates suggest that he could eventually grow to 7-foot-1 in height. Orlando is hopeful that the two of them will be able to swat shots around the rim, switch onto smaller defenders with little problem and give the Magic a swarming, fearsome defense. Isaac averaged 1.1 blocks and 1.2 steals in limited time as an NBA rookie, while Bamba registered 3.7 blocks and 0.8 steals a game at Texas. The possibilities of them together on the floor seem endless – especially with Isaac imparting his wisdom onto Bamba for support.

``No rookie left behind,’’ Isaac said with raucous laughter. ``I’m just always making sure that we’re on time and ready to go.

``(Bamba) is a worker and it’s going to be so fun playing with him. He’s one of those guys where you can just put it anywhere (on a lob pass), anywhere near the rim, and he’ll go get it,’’ he added. ``He had one or two shot blocks (in Tuesday’s practice) and I got him on one inside pass and he dunked it, so that was really good. It’s going to be really fun playing with him.’’

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