ORLANDO, Fla. — Mo Bamba returned from a preseason workout with the Orlando Magic to a full apartment. He was greeted by three friends, whose sole business is the business of Mo Bamba, and by several employees of Wayfair, the online home goods company that had furnished his new downtown penthouse as part of an endorsement deal.

All Bamba needed to do was pose for pictures.

“This is excellent, guys!” Bamba, 20, said as he tumbled onto his new bed and spread his arms, which nearly extended into the living room.

Bamba, a rookie center from Harlem, has a new home in Orlando and a new job with the Magic, who will play the Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. He is seven feet tall, with room to grow. He wants to develop a consistent outside shot. He wants to become one of the league’s sturdiest defenders.

But he also has ambitions that go beyond basketball, and he wants to do things his way.

“One thing that drives me crazy,” Bamba said during an appearance on “The Shop,” a real-talk show from LeBron James on HBO, “is when people tell me that I sound good for an athlete.”