The Orlando Magic have been plagued with injury issues throughout the 2025-26 season. On Saturday, it was again on display as Magic guard Anthony Black was rushed to the dressing room with a back injury only two minutes into the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Magic will hope that there’s nothing serious with Black, as he has been one of the few reliable players for them this season. He is averaging a career-high 15.5 points per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 33.9% from the three-point line on increased volume. Overall, this has been a breakthrough season for the young guard, who is now receiving immediate attention from the Orlando medical team, as he was immediately rushed to the locker room and has not returned since then. Of late, he has been managing a few quad issues.

Following his departure from the game early on, Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley introduced Jevin Carter in Black’s position. While the 30-year-old is not as dynamic as Black, he still could get the job done for the visitors.

According to NBA Insider Jon Krawczynski, Black is questionable to return to the court in this game after sustaining lower back spasms. He went off the court within two minutes of the game and only registered a rebound. Later, the 22-year-old was downgraded from questionable to ‘Out’ from Saturday’s game with a lower back sprain, as per Insider Jacob Beede.

Black’s departure right at the start of the game did disrupt Orlando’s momentum, and therefore, they finished the first quarter training by 27-30. However, the tides turned immediately in the second quarter as Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane took it upon themselves as they guided the visitors to a 67-54 lead at halftime.

Anthony Black has been a reliable option in the backcourt for the Orlando Magic

The 2025-26 season has been a weird one for the Orlando Magic. While injuries to Wendell Carter Jr and Franz Wagner have curbed their potential to become an NBA Championship contender, the franchise has also seen the breakthrough of third-year guard Anthony Black, developing into a starter under Jamahl Mosley.

He is already enjoying a career-high season with the Magic, and with every game under his belt, he is growing more in confidence. Apart from Banchero and Bane, he is looking like a force in offense. The youngster enjoyed his best phase in December and January when he was averaging 18.3 points per game on 45.6% shooting from the field and 35.9% from beyond the arc. He also racked up 5.0 rebounds per game and 5.1 assists per game in this period.

Black has scored 20 or more points a total of 19 times this season, which is a career high for the guard. This includes his overall career-high of 38 points when he guided the Magic to a win over the Denver Nuggets in December. With the Magic all set to move past the multiple short rookie contracts, there’s a lot of uncertainty around Black’s contract.

While the Magic have ducked under the luxury tax this season, it won’t be the same case next season with Banchero and Wendell Carter’s contract extension kicking in. So they will pay the tax next season for the first time since 2012 and be a first apron team. The first big contract that the Magic may need to dish out could be to Black.

Other than doing many things this offseason, the Magic would have to make a decision between Black and Jalen Suggs, given that they are similar kinds of players. Also, Suggs’ contract could act as a reference point for Black’s agent. Both guards are extremely comparable with their play styles and it seems like there could be a decision that the team management makes on them when they face a financial crunch.

Overall, statistically, Black has outdone Suggs until now. However, with his increasing workload as a primary scorer in a team, Black needs to work on his physical side of the game. He has been struggling with injuries throughout February. He has been averaging only 13.7 points per game and shooting 40.5% from the floor and 28.3% from beyond the three-point line. While his shooting is still decent, he has been inconsistent with his offensive contributions, something similar to his last couple of seasons, which saw him be in and out of the rotation.

Before this game, he missed a couple of games due to a right quad contusion. Some people on social media feel that Saturday’s injury is connected with the quad issues that he was experiencing earlier. Overall, Black has been a breakout star for the Magic this season, and with the postseason just around the corner, Jamahl Mosley would need everyone from this roster to step up.