ORLANDO, Fla. — Philadelphia 76ers big man Mo Bamba spent the first 4 1/2 seasons of his career playing for the Orlando Magic. Bamba was the sixth pick of the 2018 NBA draft. He played 266 games for the Magic before he was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers at the 2023 deadline.
Now with the Sixers, Bamba returned to Orlando on Wednesday, a 112-92 win for Philadelphia. Magic coach Jamahl Mosley had a lot of praise for the former Orlando big man.
“Mo in the years that I was here with him, he continued to work,” Mosley said of Bamba. “I think that was the great part about him. He was always honest, he worked his tail off to get himself on the court as much as he could.”
Unfortunately for Bamba, he suffered injuries through the majority of his time in Orlando. That, along with the presence of Nikola Vucevic, limited his opportunities with the Magic.
However, when Mosley took the job in the 2021-22 season, Bamba played 71 games and started 69 of them. He averaged 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 38.1% from deep. Mosley used him as a floor spacer on offense and allowed him to be free to protect the rim on defense.
“His ability to space the floor the right way,” Mosley continued of Bamba. “You saw what he did the other night what he did against Miami. I thought that was big and then his rim protection. He’s not afraid to go after blocking shots and I think that’s a big attribute that he possesses.”
Bamba had 18 points off the bench and knocked down three 3s in the Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat. That just shows what he can do on a nightly basis as he continues to work his way into coach Nick Nurse’s favor in Philadelphia.
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