Magic star Paolo Banchero out indefinitely with torn right oblique

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Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero has a torn right oblique, the team said Thursday night after he had further testing in Cleveland.

President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said Banchero will be out indefinitely and be re-evaluated in four-to-six weeks.

How Banchero got hurt: Banchero was injured Wednesday night in the fourth quarter of Orlando’s victory at Chicago. He scored a career-high 50 points against Indiana on Monday night and is averaging 29 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game this season.

“I felt it when it happened,” Banchero said Friday, speaking with reporters in Cleveland after Orlando’s shootaround. “Didn’t know what it was but knew it didn’t feel good. Just tried to play through it, wanted to get it looked at after the game, was hoping it wasn’t too bad but obviously it was a little worse than I thought.”

Banchero was the first overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and was an All-Star last season. In his 50-point game, Banchero scored 37 first-half points, which tied a team record for points in a half set by Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady on March 9, 2003.

He followed that up with a 31-point showing in the Magic’s 102-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 30.

Impact on the Magic: Orlando is at Cleveland on Friday night. If Banchero were to be out four weeks, he’d likely return in time for Orlando’s five-game road trip through the Atlantic Division. After that trek, the Magic are home through Dec. 29 for their next seven games.

If he misses six weeks, that means he’ll be sidelined for at least 21 games. It would also mean he’ll almost certainly be ineligible for most end-of-season NBA awards voting under the new policies that went into effect last season.

The Magic will likely seek greater contributions from swingman Franz Wagner (17.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.2 apg) and veteran big man Jonathan Isaac in Banchero’s absence. Banchero leads the Magic in usage rate (31.1%), but Mortiz Wagner (26.8%), Franz Wagner (25.7%) and Jalen Suggs (24.5%) are next in line and should all see a greater role as well.

“It sucks. There’s no other way to put it,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “It sucks for him, the way in which he started this year, the way in which he was playing, the way he’s carrying us in so many ways. And in the same breath, you have to say it’s an opportunity — it’s an opportunity for guys to step up, step into their role, opportunity for guys to continue to play to our standard of basketball.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.