Amidst significant roster changes, Orlando Magic rookie Chuma Okeke has produced back-to-back career performances for his best two-game stretch of the season.
Okeke kicked off the recent surge on Wednesday with 17 points to help the Magic to a win over the Phoenix Suns. He went a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, with four 3-pointers, in that contest for his third double-digit performance.
He followed that up on Friday with a career-high 22 points to lead the shorthanded Magic in a narrow loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a career-high 37 minutes of work.
π-ππππππππππππ-πππππ@chuma_okeke | #MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/sJRM6FAdrG
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 27, 2021
The Magic were down to just eight available players on Friday following three separate trades on Thursday. The moves figure to open up significant playing time for Okeke, and others on the roster, after playing behind Aaron Gordon this season.
Okeke said this week that he has grown increasingly comfortable with the Magic as the season has progressed and that has shown recently. He has proven to be a strong player in the post while he can step back and shoot from deep.
With the Magic in a full-fledged rebuild now, Okeke figures to be a huge part of the future and the 16th overall pick from 2019 has given the team some hope to build around.
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