josh magette

Josh Cohen

ORLANDO - Josh Magette’s No. 1 strength is his passing. The 6-foot-1, 160-pounder ranked first in the G League in total assists in 2016-17 while playing for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, now named the South Bay Lakers, and third the next season with the Erie BayHawks when he was one of the Atlanta Hawks’ two-way players.

Aside from having great court vision and awareness when he’s running the offense, the 29-year-old excels getting into the paint and forcing the defense to collapse, allowing him to kick the ball out to open shooters on the perimeter, deliver pocket passes to rollers or toss up lobs to teammates for alley-oop dunks or layups.

The other impressive thing about Magette’s playmaking is his patience. He’s very astute when the ball is in his hands, showing tremendous poise while surveying the floor. Even on possessions when it appears nothing is developing and his team is going to have to force up a poor shot, the former Division II college player at Alabama-Huntsville will take his time and wait for the perfect opportunity to make a play.

What he demonstrated in the G League and during NBA Summer League the last few years – most recently in 2018 with the Warriors and 2019 with the Spurs – is that he’s comfortable pushing the pace and making plays in transition. He’s very accurate when he makes long passes down the floor to teammates who are ahead of the pack.

While he clearly lacks the athleticism, length and strength to be a lockdown defender, Magette has very quick hands and will come up with a lot of deflections and steals. In a G League game while playing for the D-Fenders in December 2015, the Magic’s new two-way player recorded seven steals. He logged at least four steals 12 times that season.

Although certainly not known for his scoring, the 2017 G League All-Star is capable of creating his own shot when necessary. Magette, who shot just a shade under 49 percent between 10 and 14 feet away from the basket with the BayHawks in 2017-18, has a fairly reliable step-back jumper.

He can hit the long-ball, too. The lefty made 111 3-pointers with the D-Fenders in 2016-17, the eighth most in the G League that season. On 22 attempts, Magette made eight triples with Atlanta the following year, where he appeared in 18 games while playing for the parent club.

All in all, Magette -- who played professionally in Spain last season -- gives the Magic more balance at the point guard position. D.J. Augustin’s best attribute is his perimeter shooting, Michael Carter-Williams is primarily known for his defense, Markelle Fultz is best known for his pick-and-roll scoring and playmaking and Orlando’s most recent addition is best known for his facilitating.

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Josh Magette's Strengths

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic have signed guard Josh Magette (mah-JET) to a two-way contract, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deals are not disclosed.

Magette (6’1”, 160, 11/28/89) spent last season with Gran Canaria of the Spanish League and the EuroLeague. During the 2017-18 campaign, Magette appeared in 18 games with Atlanta, averaging 2.6 ppg., 3.2 apg. and 1.1 rpg. in 12.0 minpg.

Magette has played in 181 career NBA G League games with Los Angeles and Erie from 2013-18, averaging 13.1 ppg., 8.8 apg., 4.0 rpg. and 1.93 stlpg. in 34.5 minpg., while shooting .812 (378-466) from the free throw line. He was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team in 2017 and was named an NBA G League All-Star. Magette has also played professionally in the Netherlands (Landstede Zwolle, 2012-13), Greece (Koroivos Amaliadas, 2014-15) and Croatia (Cedevita Zagreb, 2018).

Magette played collegiately at the University of Alabama-Huntsville from 2008-12, leading the Chargers to three Gulf South Conference championships and two Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament. He finished his career as the school’s and conference’s all-time leader in assists.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have two Two-Way contract players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. A Two-Way player for the Magic will provide services to the team’s G League affiliate – the Lakeland Magic – but can only spend up to 45 days with Orlando during the G League season.

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Magic Sign Josh Magette to Two-Way Contract

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