ORLANDO, Fla. — The requests inundate Anthony Black daily. His Orlando Magic teammates and coaches want him to play assertively and with confidence, and they are anything but shy in reminding him about it. The entreaties occur all the time: during practices, flights to road games, film sessions, meals and in the middle of games.
Tuesday night, Black demonstrated what can happen when he takes that advice.
Black, a baby-faced guard known primarily for his defense and untapped potential, sparked the Magic in their convincing victory over the Golden State Warriors, a 121-113 success at Kia Center.
“There’s a level of aggression to him, a confidence,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “He changes games both defensively and offensively, and that’s what we keep asking of him: ‘Set the tone defensively and offensively. When you have the ball, command the floor, look to attack, get downhill, finish at the rim.’ Those are the things that he’s capable of doing, and it changes our team when he plays with that level of confidence and toughness.”
Black guarded superstar Stephen Curry when teammate Jalen Suggs was off the court, and also scored 21 points, mostly on bold drives or cuts to the basket.
Black scored his most consequential baskets in the fourth quarter on back-to-back Orlando possessions. With his team clinging to a five-point lead, he sliced through the Golden State defense and, with help from a screen by Wendell Carter Jr., dribbled to the basket, finishing with a right-handed layup.
After Jimmy Butler missed a shot and Desmond Bane grabbed the defensive rebound, Black sprinted upcourt, with a head start on Golden State players. Bane hurled a pass to Black, who dunked emphatically, yelling as the ball hit the parquet court.
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Magic players on the bench loved it. Franz Wagner, Moe Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Goga Bitadze and Suggs catapulted themselves off their seats.
That is the Anthony Black they want to see — and the Anthony Black they believe he will be once he gains more experience and confidence.
The team doesn’t have much time to wait. With Banchero out with a groin injury, Moe Wagner rehabbing from knee surgery and Tyus Jones acclimating to a new team, Orlando needs Black to start fulfilling the immense potential that prompted the team to draft him with the No. 6 pick in 2023.
“I think A.B. is someone who can impact the game on both sides,” Franz Wagner said. “When someone like that has the right energy, it’s really contagious for everybody else. Some of the plays he made tonight helped us go on big runs, whether it’s him scoring in transition or making big plays defensively. I think he’s a super-important player for our team. Obviously, with some guys out and him seeing more minutes, we need him to play like that consistently.”
Just how much does Wagner believe in his 6-foot-7 teammate? Put it this way: During Sunday’s overtime loss in Houston and again Tuesday night, Wagner exhorted Black to assert himself.
Bane and Carter did the same on Tuesday.
“I definitely appreciate that,” Black said in the Magic’s locker room after the victory. “It makes it a lot easier to play. It just helps my confidence, of course.”
Oh, and then there’s something else: When Curry was asked about him in the Warriors’ locker room, he also gave Black a vote of confidence, praising Black’s defense.
“He is super long, athletic, quick on his feet, and he has this will and this drive,” Curry said. “That’s how he’s going to be out on the floor. Offensively, he played well tonight, too. So he’s elevating his game.”
Black is averaging 11.7 points per game, the best output of his brief pro career, and that’s without a reliable shooting stroke from 3-point range or the foul line. He has made only 29 percent of his 3s and 69 percent of his free throws this season.
Sunday in Houston, Black’s dunk put the Magic ahead of the Rockets 102-100 with 1.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. He was also fouled on the play, but he missed the free throw. It was a key miss. The Rockets’ Alperen Şengün scored just before the final buzzer, sending the game into overtime. The Magic lost 117-113.
So it meant something that, two nights later, on the heels of that loss, Black showed such confidence in the win over the Warriors. Some young players might have allowed that free-throw miss to haunt them, but Black didn’t.
Anthony Black highlights vs. GSW:
21 PTS
8-13 FG
+18 +/-
32 MIN off the bench pic.twitter.com/IAH8OIc3AQ
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 19, 2025
He had help from his friends, including Jones.
“I’m spending a lot of time with him, just trying to help him in any aspect that I can as a point guard in this league for 10-plus years now,” Jones said. “But he’s been receptive to it at the same time. We just talk the game, talk what we see, sit by each other on the plane.
“He’s kind of become like a little brother to me. He has no ceiling. He can be as good as he wants to be. He can do everything on the court, on both ends of the floor. He’s a mismatch problem with his height and size.”
Because of his height and size, along with his agility, Black has the physical potential to develop into an NBA All-Defensive Team player.
And now, if he ever temporarily loses his confidence, all he has to do to regain that swagger is listen to his teammates, who are his biggest fans. They’re going to continue pleading with him, especially if he keeps playing like he did Tuesday night.
“It’s a big boost, a big boost,” Black said. “Those are the leaders of the team. So if they feel I should be aggressive, then I agree with it. I appreciate the trust they have in me, for sure.”
