Jonathan Isaac To Remain Out For Season, Magic Say

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac will miss the remainder of the season, waiting until 2022-23 to make his return from a torn ACL, the team announced.

“First and foremost, the care of our players will always be our top priority,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “We have to remember that Jonathan has missed essentially two years.

“While it continues to be a day-to-day process for him as he continues to strengthen and condition all aspects of his body, we feel we have reached a point where it would be prudent to say that he will not play this season.”

Isaac suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the restart in the Disney bubble in August 2020. He missed all of last season as a result, and as it turns out, all of this one as well. 

“I understand this can be frustrating to our fans, but Jonathan has worked extremely hard and he is eager to return to game action, which is why we must continue to manage his rehabilitation with the big picture in mind. Quite frankly, we are just out of time to ramp him up to play in games this season.”

Isaac is considered one of the NBA’s rising talents and his return is expected to give the young and rebuilding Magic even more promise.

He made a name for himself by refusing to join other players and kneel or wear a “Black Lives Matter” shirt when the NBA completed the 2019-20 season inside the Orlando bubble. He cited his Christian faith as the primary reason.

“A lot went into my decision and part of it is my thought that kneeling or wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt don’t go hand in hand with supporting black lives,” he said.

“My life has been supported by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone is made in the image of God and we all share in His glory. Each and everyone of us each and every day do things we shouldn’t do.

“We say things we shouldn’t say. We hate and dislike people that we shouldn’t hate and dislike. And sometimes it gets to the point where we point fingers about whose evil is worse, and sometimes it comes down to simply whose evil is most visible. 

“I felt like I wanted just take a stand on — I felt like we all make mistakes but I think the gospel of Jesus Christ is that there’s grace for us. And that Jesus came and died for our sins. And that we all will come to an understanding of that and that God wants to have a relationship with us.”