Keith Bogans thought he was done proving himself. As a rookie last season, Bogans proved himself by earning a starting nod in 36 games and averaging nearly 25 minutes per contest. He validated himself again by carving out a niche as a defensive specialist, one of the Orlando Magic’s weaker points last season, proving to himself and everyone else in the NBA that he truly did belong.

Now, he’s got to do it all over again.

In an eerie case of déjà vu, Bogans once again finds himself as an unproven player in the midst of a hoard of new teammates. The Magic’s second-round draft pick of 2003 now must face the exact same process he did a year ago with the exact same - yet very different - team.

"I feel like in this league you always have to prove yourself," Bogans said. "Especially if you’re a guy in my position, where you have a lot of new teammates to play with and you can’t afford to get comfortable."

Bogans may have had that in mind this summer. In the Reebok Las Vegas Summer League, defensive-minded Bogans opened eyes by averaging 24 points a game and blistering the nets at a 59 percent clip. In his best game against Boston, he lit up the Celtics for 38 points in the Magic’s 119-106 win, ending the five-game league with the second-highest scoring average and the highest individual performance of the week.

"I stayed in the gym, got up a lot of shots, stayed in shape," Bogans said of his off-season. "This summer, I think a lot of people overlooked the fact that I could score, but that’s what’s I did for four years at the University of Kentucky as the No. 4 all-time leading scorer. It’s just something I went out and put more emphasis on this summer."

That portion of his game may have been passed over by many of his peers in the NBA, but it wasn’t overlooked by one person - Magic Head Coach Johnny Davis.

"He’s really made some progress with his offensive game," Davis said earlier this summer. "He might have had only one or two games where he didn’t shoot at least 50 percent. I like what I saw of Keith this summer."

While his offensive skills may have turned for the better, the Magic will no doubt still rely in his defensive presence if it wants to win games. Just last season, Bogans held all-stars Vince Carter and Gary Payton to a combined 12-for-33 in head-to-head match ups and was often pitted against the opposing teams’ top scorer after securing a steady starting slot in January.

Those statistics may be enough to make any professional basketball player drool, but Bogans has yet another reason to brag. Not only did the Magic keep him protected in the Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft, Bogans is also in slim company as one of just four players the Magic held on to after their 2003-04 season flop.

"It feels good that I was one of the guys kept here," Bogans said. "They kept me, so now I have to go and play hard and show why they kept me and what I am capable of doing."

Or, one could say, he wants to prove what he is capable of.

"I have a lot of goals for this season. Personally, I want to win. Team-wise, I want to win, especially after what we went through last year. I think everybody is going to be on the same page and everybody is going to want to play hard and have a good year. That’s what we are looking forward to doing."

Melanie Curtsinger is an intern in the Magic's Communications department.