Nick Crain | 12/21/22

The story of Bol Bol has been one of the most interesting to follow over the past few years. Coming into college at Oregon, the son of former NBA center Manute Bol was a five-star prospect and one of the top players in the country.   While he had a fantastic start to his college career, he faced a season-ending injury after nine games and was somewhat of a mystery entering the 2019 NBA Draft. Despite having more potential upside than nearly any prospect in that class, he wasn’t selected until the middle of the second round.   From there, Bol would play just over two seasons with the Denver Nuggets, but didn’t get much playing time. This was partially due to injuries, but also because Denver was a contending team and didn’t play many young players.   From there, Bol was traded to the Orlando Magic, which is when everything changed. He didn’t play in the 2021-22 season after being sent to Orlando due to a foot injury, but was set to make his Magic debut in the 2022-23 campaign.   He’s now one of the most popular players in the entire league. In what’s been a breakout season, Bol is a starter that’s averaging 12.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 40% from beyond the arc and 60% from the field overall.   Getting it done on both ends, Bol is an extremely unique prospect given the fact that he’s 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-8 wingspan. While he’s almost always the tallest player on the court, he plays very differently than a traditional big.   Bol has the ability to handle the ball and create for himself off the bounce. He’s got perimeter skills but also the size to score close to the rim. He’s also a menace on the defensive end.   Due to coming off of several injuries entering the season, the Magic were able to sign him to an extremely team friendly deal worth $4.4 million over two years. He’s now set to make $2.2 million both this season and next before becoming a free agent in the summer of 2024.   Combine this extremely cheap contract with the fact that Bol is arguably the most improved player in the NBA, and it’s fair to say he’s one of the best bargain contracts in the league.   The ProFitX Athledex has pinned his real-time contract value at $5.25 million, but that should only climb as the season goes on. When looking at his performance through time, the improvement is exponential. At the rate he’s going, he could end up being worth four or five times what he’s worth by the end of the 2022-23 campaign.   As such, Bol’s next deal will be much larger. Orlando likely now views him as a long-term piece of the core and will look to keep him around as he enters his prime. Bol is still just 23 years old and is just scratching the surface of his potential.