With two selections in the second round on Thursday night, the Magic dominated the second round of the 2025 NBA draft.
But as soon as the second round got underway at Barclays Center, Orlando swiftly rose up the selection board.
In exchange for the No. 46 and No. 57 picks this season, a 2026 second-round pick (most advantageous of Detroit, Milwaukee, and Orlando), and a 2027 second-round pick (most favorable of Orlando and Boston), the Magic purchased the draft rights to No. 32 from the Celtics, a league source told the Orlando Sentinel.
According to the league source, the Magic and president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman traded with Boston to choose French 6-foot-8 big Noah Penda.
The 20-year-old Penda joins guard Jase Richardson, who the Magic selected with the 25th overall choice on Wednesday.
Over the following seven years, the Magic will still own nine second-round picks and four firsts, despite Orlando sending the Celtics four second-round picks.
Penda, who was born in Paris, competed for Le Mans Sarthe Basket in the 2024 LNB light, France’s top professional league. According to NBA.com, he averaged 10.2 points, 5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals in 28 games this past season, playing 26.6 minutes per game.
Penda has also played international football for France.
Penda helped his squad win the title in the 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket competition by averaging 11.7 points per game.
For the Magic, trading in the second round is nothing new. Orlando has traded most of their second picks since Weltman arrived, but merely to push them back to later years or for financial reasons.
The magic wing In 2022, the Magic signed Caleb Houstan as their final second-round pick.
You can contact Jason Beede at [email protected].
