Sports · Basketball · 22 hrs ago
Vucevic Returns to Orlando as Several NBA Players Make Preseason Debuts
Nikola Vucevic is back with the Orlando Magic, five years after the team traded him to Chicago.
He returned in free agency this summer and played 12 minutes off the bench in his preseason debut, scoring nine points and getting three rebounds.
He is expected to back up center Wendell Carter Jr. this season.
Orlando coach Sean Sweeney said Anthony Black and Noah Penda took part fully in practice as they recover from injuries, while Jalen Suggs is making progress after an illness; Sweeney did not say whether any would play Sunday against Cleveland.
Jonathan Isaac was absent from the parts of practice open to the media after missing a game for personal reasons.
Atlanta’s Luguentz Dort and Washington’s Alex Sarr were set to play their first preseason games, with Sarr returning after surgery on a fracture in his right foot in June.
Nikola Vucevic returned to the Orlando Magic in a preseason game, five years after the team traded him to Chicago.
He made his preseason debut Wednesday at Memphis, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
Vucevic said being back in a Magic uniform felt natural, though he expects the full feeling to come on opening night.
Magic coach Sean Sweeney said injured players Anthony Black, Noah Penda and Jalen Suggs were making progress, but he did not guarantee they would play Sunday.
Luguentz Dort and Alex Sarr were also set to make their preseason debuts.
- Who
- Nikola Vucevic and other NBA players, including Luguentz Dort and Alex Sarr.
- What
- Vucevic returned to the Magic in a preseason game and made his preseason debut. Dort and Sarr were also set for their first preseason action.
- When
- Vucevic made his debut Wednesday; the article was published October 11, 2026.
- Where
- Vucevic played at Memphis. The article also mentions upcoming games at Cleveland and elsewhere.
- Why
- Vucevic returned to Orlando in free agency this summer after being traded to Chicago in 2021.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
It felt pretty natural being back in that blue. It was good to be back.
For any of those guys, you can’t skip steps.
It’s hard to say what position he is because he can guard almost every position.
Orlando dealt Vucevic to Chicago.
Vucevic returned to the Magic in free agency.
Vucevic made his preseason debut at Memphis, scoring nine points and recording three rebounds in 12 minutes.
Sweeney said Black and Penda had participated fully in practice for a second straight day and that Suggs was making progress.
Dort and Sarr were set to make their preseason debuts.
- Vucevic's time in Orlando
- More than eight years before he was traded to Chicago
- Chicago trade
- 2021 trade deadline
- Vucevic's preseason debut
- Nine points and three rebounds in 12 minutes at Memphis
- Anthony Black
- Sprained right ankle
- Noah Penda
- Strained right hamstring
- Alex Sarr
- First game since June surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot
Sources
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