Oft-injured Magic bench player lives up to nickname with impressive stat

Since being drafted in 2017, Isaac's seven years in the NBA have been marked by serious injuries and multiple lengthy absences.

He played in 27 contests (10 starts) as a rookie during the 2017-18 campaign and appeared in a career-high 75 games (64 starts) during the 2018-19 season. Isaac then played in 32 of Orlando's first 34 contests in the 2019-20 campaign before suffering a serious knee injury in the team's victory over the Washington Wizards on New Year's Day 2020.

He had signed a four-year, $80M contract extension with the franchise in December 2020.

The Florida State product tore his left ACL in early August 2020 during the Magic's second game back from the COVID-19 pandemic in the "bubble" and only two games removed from returning from his New Year's Day ailment.

At the end of that month, it was announced that the former lottery pick would miss most of the 2020-21 campaign.

Isaac's rehab slowed down through much of the 2021-22 season, and team president Jeff Weltman announced that the big man would miss the entire campaign. Isaac also suffered a minor hamstring injury that year and underwent a procedure.

He finally returned to the court for the first time in 892 days on Jan. 10, 2023, debuting with the G-League affiliate Lakeland Magic. After one game with Lakeland, Isaac returned to Orlando on Jan. 23, 2023, against the Boston Celtics.

In late February 2023, he suffered a torn left adductor muscle during practice. Isaac underwent season-ending surgery last March but was healthy for the start of the 2023-24 season.

He finished this past season with 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game across his 58 contests (two starts) while shooting a career-high 51.0% from the floor.

The Magic were one of the biggest surprise stories in the NBA this season. They earned their first postseason berth in four years after finishing fifth place in the Eastern Conference at 47-35. They'll face the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs beginning on Saturday.