Watch this man: Jonathan Isaac is here to save the Magic

It’s been a slow burn but Jonathan Isaac finally looks like a two-way star and the kind of player who could change everything for the Magic.

When the Magic drafted Isaac in 2017, fans immediately put high expectations on the shoulders of the Florida State rookie. After all, Orlando was in the midst of a four-year postseason drought and desperately searching for someone to fill Dwight Howard’s shoes.

After selecting the disappointing Mario Hezonja at No. 5 in 2015 (and subsequently giving up stars Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for a half-season rental of Serge Ibaka), nobody would deny Isaac the keys to the kingdom.

However, most fans expected Isaac would be a work in progress. His wiry frame and incredible defensive intangibles needed to be cultivated to make him a solid two-way player. Nobody could have foreseen Isaac’s emergence coming this quickly though.

Since the 2017 draft class broke into the league, the eyes of the national media have fixated on players like Donovan Mitchell, Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum and Kyle Kuzma. Maybe it’s time we shift our focus to an underappreciated yet dynamic player like Isaac.

Despite playing the 18th most minutes of the 2017 crop of draftees, Isaac has achieved the 8th highest career VORP of all junior-year players. But truth be told, that’s underselling his statistical dominance and the enormous leap he’s made here in 2019.

Through 20 games played so far, Isaac is one of only three players to surpass 50 total blocks — and he’s leading the league at a ridiculous mark of 2.8 blocks per game. The next closest perimeter-oriented player is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is only swatting 1.3 shots per content. Isaac also further pads his defensive stats by reeling in 1.4 steals per game.

I’d wager no player in the NBA is making defense quite as fun to watch as Jonathan Isaac. His ability to lock down the game’s best scorers on the perimeter as well as go blow-for-blow down low in the paint makes for quality television. Here’s a look at some of his best defensive moments in 2019 alone.

But we saw this coming. Isaac was highly touted as a prospect mostly due to his defensive upside. The offensive end was where all the question marks lay. Yet we’ve seen Isaac transform into an incredible complementary player on offense, playing with efficiency and out-hustling the other team for easy baskets in transition and on the offensive glass.

Isaac is scoring 12.5 points and grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game this season — both career-highs. He is pulling in 1.8 of those boards on offense, the third-highest mark of any small forward in the league (behind only Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler).

Most importantly, he’s taking a career-high 3.6 shot attempts from long range this year. While he’s hitting them at a less-than-stellar mark of 33.3 percent, his willingness to stretch the defense and the effect it has on Orlando’s offensive scheme is not insignificant.

But don’t take it from me, listen to what Chris Mack — head coach of Xavier and 2018 Big East Coach of the Year — had to say about Isaac’s scoring intangibles, “The unique thing about him is he can do it in a variety of ways. He can post up. He can certainly shoot the basketball from the perimeter. They throw lobs to him. He’s a terrific offensive rebounder. He’s a challenge.”

Considering the incredible jump Isaac has made year-to-year so far, there’s no reason to believe he’s stopping now. With his teammates on his back, this is a unit that will make you fight through every possession. There are few easier up-and-coming franchise cornerstones to root for than future Defensive Player of the Year (that’s right, you heard it hear first) Jonathan Isaac.