Magic Number: What Do Analytics Say About Orlando Youth?
Drafting the next Lebron James is every NBA front office's dream, but there’s a reason The King is a once-in-a-lifetime caliber player.
However, even if we may never see a player quite like him again, there are analytics that measure a player's impact in similar ways.
“LEBRON is a great stat to quickly ballpark a player's impact and provide so much context the traditional box score is lacking,” BBall Index said on their LEBRON tool.
Two of the Orlando Magic’s brightest stars in Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony ranked inside the top 10 for this measure in players under the age of 21 last season, with Wagner at No. 8 and Anthony in the No. 9 slot.
“It estimates how many points better or worse a player is worth compared to league average per 100 possessions with zero being average,” BBall Index said.
Surprisingly for Wagner, a big reason for this was not because of his offense, but for the impact he brings defensively.
With a grade of 0.21, above league average for this measure, the 6-10 forward was tied with fourth-year New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes.
Anthony, on the other hand, was one of just nine players under the age of 21 last season to finish with an above average offensive grade at 0.05.
The third-year guard will look to add on to a sophomore campaign where he improved in nearly every major offensive statistical category, putting up 16.3 points, 5.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds over 65 games.
With the addition of No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero, who has shown the versatility he can bring on both ends of the floor, the Magic will have an array of young talent at its disposal next season.
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