Bol Bol has been balling out for the Orlando Magic and Kevin Durant has something to say about it
When Bol Bol was drafted into the NBA, everybody had high expectations from him. He was dubbed as an ‘Unciorn’ in the league. Due to Bol Bol’s unique blend of size, versatility, and technique, many considered him as the next generation of evolutionary basketball players. Bol Bol is supposed to be the living flesh of positionless basketball.
However, in the beginning, things turned out to be not so great for the son of late NBA star Manute Bol.
The 7-foot-2-inch forward was heavily underused when he was on the Denver Nuggets roster. Frankly speaking, Denver never provided the needed time to develop someone like Bol Bol. He hardly got time and spent most of the minutes on a bench. This severely limited Bol’s opportunities for self-discovery.
Playing for the Nuggets, Bol just clocked in 6.2 minutes per game in 53 appearances. Until now. After being traded to the Orlando Magic, Bol Bol’s career has taken a 180-degree turn.
Bol Bol is having a breakout season with the Magic. Bol is now boasting 60/41/80 shooting splits over at least 500 regular-season minutes. He also now has a 66.2 true shooting percentage which ranks in the top 30.
Further, Bol is also the only player this season averaging double-digit points (13.5) and at least two blocks in as few as 26.5 minutes per game, along with 7.9 rebounds. He is also establishing himself as a solid defender for the Magic. Bol has already collected 40 blocks, third most this season, swatting away 17.3 percent of the field goals he’s faced.
His recent heroics have obviously caught the attention and people all over are starting to take notice of Bol Bol.
While playing for Denver Nuggets, Bol averaged just 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds. Now, for the Magic, Bol is averaging a massive 13.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks; also, a difference from 5.8 minutes a game to 27.1 minutes a game.
This stat is a drastic change and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was all praise for Bol Bol. In a post-game conference, Durant spoke in length about Bol.
“He’s unique,” Durant said about Bol Bol. “He’s tough to deal with. I can see his confidence growing by the game, pretty much every game on the basketball court. He just needed more reps, last few years he’s been in and out of the lineup, hurt, and G League stints. I love what Jamal is doing with him over there, putting him at the point sometimes, putting him at the five, and just moving him around because he’s such a versatile player. It’s great for the league. I think you’ll start to see him continue to be more and more of an impact player as time goes on.”
Bol’s recent performance has Twitter users hyped. They are heavily arguing that he is the real ‘Unicorn,’ who has come much before Victor Wembanyama.
With his consistent performance, Bol Bol is a favorite for this year’s Most Improved Player award. Bol definitely has more room to improve and time will only tell what he will finally become.
Nevertheless, it’s great to see players like Bol Bol shine like this after spending so much time on the bench.