NEW YORK — The Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero will undergo an MRI on his groin Thursday, he told The Athletic after Wednesday’s 124-107 win over the New York Knicks. For now, Orlando is calling his injury a groin strain.
The All-Star forward sustained the injury while pursuing a rebound during the second quarter. Banchero leapt for a board, landed and tried to accelerate, then felt a pull in his groin area.
“I just slowed up, and I felt it right away,” Banchero told The Athletic. “And then, I did a couple more trips up and down, and then, it was still there. So I asked to come out because I didn’t wanna risk further injury.”
Banchero attempted to re-enter the game, heading back to the locker room and trying “different dynamic movements,” he said, but still felt discomfort. Team trainers ruled him out for the rest of the night.
“I dealt with an oblique (injury) last year, and that was a tear,” Banchero said. “And feeling it, it was kinda really painful to where I couldn’t really do much. I couldn’t really move much. This (groin injury), I can still do movements. There just was a pain there. (Trainers) said if it was torn or anything, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, that’s encouraging.”
The team has not yet provided a timeline for Banchero’s injury. The Magic will have a better idea of one after Banchero undergoes imaging.
“We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I’ll get the MRI and start treatment from there,” he said. “But hopefully, (the timeline is) not very long.”
After Wednesday’s trouncing of the Knicks, the Magic have won five of their last seven games, a streak that brings them to an even 6-6 after a 1-4 start. Banchero, along with fellow big forward Franz Wagner and newcomer Desmond Bane, is one of the group’s top players.
He entered Wednesday, his 23rd birthday, as Orlando’s leading scorer, averaging 23.3 points to go with 9.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists.