Orlando Magic rookie Izaiyah Nelson suffered a fractured left ankle during Orlando's 112-105 Summer League victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, dealing an early setback to the team's lone selection in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Magic Summer League coach DJ Bakker, spoke on the injury and the overall team victory
"Resilient. I thought to the start of the game, our defensive focus, defensive intensity wasn't there, but they responded. Second and third quarter defense was really good. And then, the way these games go, there's a lot of back and forth. Might be some crazy turnovers, tough shots, tough calls, whatever it might be. But the mindset to move forward to get to the next play—what's the most important thing that's right in front of us and to move on and get a stop when we needed or get a good look when we need it.
And then we subbed offense, defense, there was a lot of guys going in and out of the game. Everybody stayed ready and when it was the next guy's turn to go in the game, he was ready. The guy that subbed out supported them. I think that's—we talk about being a connected team, that's what it looks like. And so, I was really proud of the guys for how connected they were and also for the resiliency, the up and downs of the game."
"Well, I've had to coach against them far too often the last couple years. So, unfortunately, I've seen that and they—the front office, Kevin Tiller, all those guys did an incredible job of building out that roster with competitive guys that all love the game—like they want to play the whole game if they could. So, it's really guys that love the game, that want to compete, and that want to see each other do well. That's the thing I've enjoyed the most over the last few weeks of getting to know these guys is their enjoyment for their teammate success. So, when we talk about connectivity, that's what it looks like in a game like tonight where guys are cheering, guys are up, guys are talking, that's what it feels like. That's what it looks like. So, really proud of the group."
"His ball handling, but he's versatile in his offensive game. He can obviously drive and you saw a few times where he drove, he collapsed the paint. He's a willing passer, too. He just has such a great shot-making ability. That's his foundation, but he loves to drive and kick. He loves to collapse the defense. He loves to find the open man. So, very proud of who he has become in terms of—and his talk. That's the last thing I forgot to say. His talk was really, really good tonight in the huddles defensively when he was out of the game talking to his teammates. That was—like I said, I've coached against him before, but seeing that talk and his willingness to try to contribute to winning regardless of if he is scoring, if he is shooting a three, or if he's making the right play, he's a winning player that cares about helping his teammates out."
"Sprained ankle. Get with medical after this. Obviously, we have a great medical staff with Arie and his group there. So they work their magic and work around the clock with them. We don't play again till Wednesday, so just give him a chance to recover and see where he's at."
"No, it was great. And overtime, that's a big deal to see our guys come in today, and obviously knowing Jace didn't play. So, with that, new guys get opportunities to get in the rotation and guys that maybe played just medium minutes, they got bumped up a little bit. And that's why we've talked about staying ready—in summer league things fluctuate all the time. We have these guys play, these guys don't. Whatever happens, just stay ready. Be ready for the next play. Be ready for the next game. Stay coachable. We're still showing film to the guys that aren't playing. We just want to maximize their opportunity, whatever that is. And that's the last thing we talked about. We said, 'Don't count your minutes, make your minutes count.' And so, if it's a little, do great with the little that you're given. And those guys obviously responded. Proud of the whole group."
"Poise. He's a pro. Even defensively, he had some great activity down the stretch. Put him on the ball. He switched on the ball one time, he got a deflection late game after he was out. And that's what I was talking about of being a connected group. He was out, Colin was in, and then we wanted to go small to switch and he didn't miss a beat. He was ready to go. So you could tell he—as soon as I subbed him in in the huddle, he was locked in, ready to go. He wasn't phased by it. So, you could tell the professional habits there, the competitiveness there, and the ability to stay ready are really important traits, and he really has them."
