Forward Paolo Bunchera after undergoing an MRI, he was diagnosed with a low-grade high ankle sprain magic declared (Link to Twitter).
While the team has not provided an official timetable for Buncher’s return, ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the news (via Twitter), noted that players who experience high ankle sprains often miss four to six weeks.
Banker was injured in the first quarter of Friday’s home loss to Minnesota. The one-time All-Star said Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel after the game that he was optimistic about the nature of the injury, but imaging revealed a high sprain in his right ankle.
“It was a first quarter game Desmond (Bane) fell on me, sort of rolled onto my ankle and turned it inward“, – Banchero said. “And then I kept playing. And then I came out of halftime and there was that play in the third where I jumped up, felt it, stood up, asked to come out, came back and then felt it again. And I just said, “Yeah, I’m not going to push it any further.”
“But I’m sure it’s nothing serious. I think I just tweaked it from the inside. Most of all my sprained ankles have always been on the outside, so this is kind of foreign to me. So a little scary in this form. But the doctors looked. Nothing is structurally wrong. I like to move and walk well. But I will definitely go for an inspection to make sure everything is structurally sound. But I am quite sure that there is nothing serious or serious.”
According to the Magic, Banchero will undergo further testing and evaluation. Bied hears the former No. 1 overall pick will sit out Sunday’s game in New York, which isn’t surprising given the rough schedule above.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter), Banchero injuries and Franz Wagner have been a constant theme the past two seasons. The star forwards played just 24 games together last season, largely because Wagner missed extended time with his own high ankle sprain, and played just 40 games together in 2024/25 as they both dealt with torn oblique muscles.
Orlando’s frontcourt depth will be tested early this season. Besides Banchero, Noah Penda (partially torn right hamstring), Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury treatment), and a bilateral big man Isaiah Nelson (left ankle injury recovery) all take a back seat, Bide notes.
The third year ahead Tristan da Silva figures to see more playing time without Buncher. Magic is carried out fourth-year option on the 25-year-old earlier this week.
