Mo Bamba’s short career has seen shaky sequences, but when Bamba was called upon this year to fill a real role in the rotation, he proved he can hang. In Mo Bamba’s rookie season, Mo’s injury gave the Magic a clear pecking order at center, making way for Khem Birch to hone the role of the backup big. Some attribute this outcome to Orlando’s late-season playoff-push; while settling on a rotation of high-IQ defenders helped Orlando win regular season games in February and March, I would also point to the Magic’s unusual luck with injuries and being on the better end of schedule losses for other teams, in addition to Jonathan Isaac’s distinct development from downtown during the final ~30 games of the season.

Bamba’s second season started slow; since seeing his playing time and opportunity increase just ten games into the year, however, Mo has shown flashes of his modern skill-set. Here’s a box score breakdown of Mo Bamba’s first ten games compared to the forty-nine games that have happened since:

first 10 games: (13.1 MPG)

shooting 35–26–25 on 1.7 3PA

per-36: 11p-11.3r-2.5b (0.32 a/to)

box score: 4p-4.1r-0.9b

49 games since: (14.8 MPG)

shooting 49–37–73 on 1.7 3PA

per-36: 14.3p-12.5r-3.8b (1.06 a/to)

box score: 5.9p-5.1r-1.6b

Bamba can handle the traditional roles of rim-rolling, rebounding, and protecting the rim, while fulfilling contemporary ideals like switching onto quicker wings using footwork and wingspan, rolling and popping off picks, and spacing the floor as a catch-and-shoot threat. If you put him in a situation where he needs to post-up other brutes to score, or where he has to make multiple reads, he won’t be as efficient or impactful; keep Bamba in the roles of finisher and rim-protector to maximize Mo’s talent.