It’s weird to see a second player from the Cal Golden Bears, a team that couldn’t win the Pac-12, that was upset in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament, and was generally disappointing for most of the season, being taken in the lottery. However, Jaylen Brown and now Ivan Rabb comprised one of the most talented duos in the country this past season—they just never were able to click together to the point where they could carry their team to overall success.
That being said, Rabb showed individually why he’s regarded as a highly special player and someone who could have a real impact in the NBA sooner rather than later. With good size at 6-10 for a power forward, he has a polished offensive game on the interior with a nice menu of post moves to get his shot off. However, he also has been developing the ability to step away and knock down shots from the mid-range as well and has proven that he can be a quality rebounder against high levels of competition.
When you look at a team like the Magic, they obviously already have a player like Aaron Gordon in house. However, Rabb would be an interesting piece to put in behind Gordon to watch him develop with the young core in Orlando. Down the line, the notion of having Gordon at the four with Rabb playing small-ball center is highly intriguing and I think the Magic will ultimately think so as well.
Next: No. 12 Jazz