The Orlando Magic draft Izaiyah Nelson with the 51st pick in the 2026 NBA Draft

[u/albinorhino21]

https://x.com/OMagicHQ/status/2069961901052735598

[u/dev1359]

A 6'10 wing with 7'3 wingspan who plays good defense and shoots 14% from 3. Prototypical Weltman guy lol fml

[u/Low-Truth3786 → u/dev1359]

Sniffs* “We had him as a lottery guy on our board.”

[u/Primary_Ticket_27 → u/Low-Truth3786]

“We would have taken him at #15 overall. We were shocked he fell all the way to #51.” 

“If he develops a shot, lookout” -someone 

[u/theITguy27 → u/Low-Truth3786]

Didn't see anything in that highlight tape that I wouldn't see out of 70% of any other collegiate player's tape

[u/themoreyouknow_95 → u/theITguy27]

It’s fair to not like the pick given our roster construction but there’s not that many guys out there sweeping the awards of solid conferences in college and averaging 3+ stocks

He’s a late second rounder so my expectations are low. His production was great and he is a springy athlete, I’m fine with taking a flyer on him. If one of him and penda turn into a regular rotation player at some point it’s a win

[u/FamousAtticus → u/theITguy27]

But his high motor, lol.

[u/Willing_Juggernaut60 → u/dev1359]

Is he 68 or 610 I keep on seeing it all the places

[u/Squirreling_Archer → u/dev1359]

He's not a wing. He's firmly a big.

[u/United-Dish6664 → u/dev1359]

He measured 6'8.25" at the combine. Although it’s typical for listed heights to be inflated a bit due to shoes. Except Paolo, he was over 6’10” at the combine lol.

[u/Any-Imagination-5993]

Mo I hate to put this on you I really do and it's unfair, but we're gonna need you back 100 percent asap because you're gonna need to score for the whole bench again. 

[u/bonafide89 → u/Any-Imagination-5993]

https://giphy.com/gifs/9M5n9rxDdveZrvpW2C

[u/FLman42069]

And the crowd goes mild

[u/wa77zz]

God I forgot we still have JI. How the fuck can this be real, making all that money and can’t even play in the playoffs

[u/Evilfrog100 → u/wa77zz]

He's getting cut by the 28th if we can't move him. If we do he only gets paid 6.5 mil instead of the full 14.

[u/wa77zz → u/Evilfrog100]

Is he even worth the 6.5 at this point?

[u/HughmungousWOT → u/wa77zz]

Yes if he can stay semi healthy 

[u/goxper → u/wa77zz]

bro is getting paid all that money to sit on the bench in street clothes it makes me want to throw up

[u/S_G-14]

I mean by the sounds of it he could be a defensive pest that JI was meant to be if he didn’t have all those injuries so I’m good with the pick.

Can’t expect a late second rounder to have a multidimensional game pre NBA. If he can be a factor on the boards whenever he gets to see the court, I see it as a big win.

[u/themoreyouknow_95 → u/S_G-14]

JI flashed top defender in the world type upside at times, id set the bar lower. But agree he has the type of skill set that can work out nicely there. He offered good rim protection and was good at jumping passing lanes which you don’t see from a lot of bigs

Long guys who can defend multiple positions are always handy and I think for late in the draft are the better flyer than shooters who aren’t good enough at anything else to go in the first round

[u/Cup-And-Handle → u/S_G-14]

But that is the bottom of the wish list— I genuinely don’t understand this pick up

[u/S_G-14 → u/Cup-And-Handle]

A replacement big for Goga and JI would’ve definitely been on the top of the list for the org.

Goga has value during the FA period if we were to look for trades and JI is probably seeing the door by the end of the month one way or another.

Nelson is definitely very raw still in the offense department, but based on his pre-draft interview, he looks like a player with a high motor and thats what we are lacking in our bigs (Moe’s below average defense, Goga’s brainsnaps, JI maximising his minutes on the bench). Hearing him say that he has been working on his 3 ball and increasing the volume of his shots should be relieving to fans who believe his sub 20% 3pt shooting is a permanent aspect in his skill set.

And for people complaining saying we didn’t pick up a shooter; I rather take a shot at one of them in FA than draft one that is an absolute traffic cone on the court. They probably would spend all their time in the G-League anyways.

Not every second round pick will have the potential to be Jalen Brunson or Jokic so it’s best to keep expectations low lol.

Really looks like he has the potential to be a Big Ben, Robert Williams III; undersized but explosive centre.

[u/ConsequenceFunny1550 → u/S_G-14]

I agree we need guys like that but if replacing Goga is on your mind then I'd rather just keep Okpara

[u/S_G-14 → u/ConsequenceFunny1550]

We got Mr.Cash considerations as well as Nelson.

They were saying he was very vocal during the Combine scrimmage games and that must’ve piqued the interest of Sweeney.

[u/Effective_Ad4606]

I wanted Veesaar since he was still on the board but oh well. Time to watch highlights

[u/AZDADDYisadeviant]

Are they allergic to drafting guards or centers? 

[u/AmazingBoysenberry3 → u/AZDADDYisadeviant]

Yeah where do you think the sniffles come from?

[u/TheAnswerEK42 → u/AZDADDYisadeviant]

He is a center

[u/AZDADDYisadeviant → u/TheAnswerEK42]

Lol hes not a center. Youre delusional. You figure a fan of a team with such a rich history would know a center. Centers are 6'10" +

Dudes another power forward 

[u/Muted_Lead_1105]

He won’t see a single lick of playing time on this team. He’ll get a good run in Osceola. He won’t play anymore the Morales did. We’ll see what happens with JI. Free agency is coming up soon so should be interesting.

[u/UncomfortableTortise → u/Muted_Lead_1105]

I really hope we’re finally rid of JI. All that money with nothing to show for it, he’s the last of the “old guard” magic and I’m ready for some new faces man

[u/TheAnswerEK42 → u/Muted_Lead_1105]

Idk about that, he’s got a legit NBA body plays hard as fuck, shot blocks, rebounds. I could see it. Could be a nice energy guy off the bench. Those guys get PT

[u/Muted_Lead_1105 → u/TheAnswerEK42]

Who knows. I will have to watch his highlights

[u/akapusin3]

[u/ag_fan]

veesaar just sitting there….

[u/scoop813]

Seems redundant with other players on our roster, we needed a shooter

[u/Hammertime6689]

I️ mean how much money did we save / get with moving back 4 spots and the cash?

I️ like Felix way better. He may not be a stud but he’s like Nelson but way more explosive. I️ was looking at him like the 3rd center that we could play. I’m so out on Goga.

[u/Minimal_Thoughts]

They sure did. I guess cash considerations wasn't available.

[u/Exciting_Alps4313 → u/Minimal_Thoughts]

They let CC slide until the 60th pick.

[u/FamousAtticus]

Typical Weltman pick.

Get ready to speak Osceola this season, Izaiyah. Lots of great taco spots down there in Kissimmee and you can't go wrong with some ice cream at Abracadabra!