Cole Anthony enters his rookie season with the Orlando Magic not projected as a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award but teammate Aaron Gordon certainly hopes he will be in the running this season.
Anthony is currently outside of the top 10 in terms of odds to win the award from various sportsbooks but a case can be made that the 15th overall pick was one of the top rookies during the preseason. He led all rookies in scoring and looked noticeably more comfortable each time he stepped onto the court.
The 20-year-old averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in four appearances, while he shot 47.1% from 3-point range. The Magic know that, given the shortened training camp period, Anthony will continue to show improvement on a nightly basis and that could play a huge factor this season.
“I’ve always known Cole is talented, very skilled,” Gordon said on Friday. “I liked his poise. Obviously, he is his own worst critic. He is going to continue to get better and better the more minutes that he gets. He is a key factor to our success and, hopefully, he is in the running for Rookie of the Year.”
Magic head coach Steve Clifford has said that Anthony will play a key role with the team this season and his success may very well dictate how successful the team can be throughout the year. The experience will enable Anthony to continually grow on the court, something he has already done in a limited preseason run.
Given his projected role, Anthony may have a tremendous opportunity to be in the conversation to win Rookie of the Year. He wasn’t highly thought of in the annual NBA GM Survey and that could motivate him to perform even better this year.
Orlando kicks off the season on Wednesday vs. the Miami Heat.
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