Magic’s Jalen Suggs doesn’t believe change in style is needed after injury

Throughout Orlando’s first-round playoff loss against Boston, it became common to see Jalen Suggs with a basketball in his hands.

Even if he had been ruled out for the rest of the season and the postseason in early March because of a left knee cartilage tear, it was easy to see just how badly the Magic guard missed the court.

Although he had the opportunity to watch the series against the Celtics alongside Jamahl Mosley‘s coaching staff and view the game through a different lens, he would have rather been a part of the action.

“That was so hard,” Suggs said. “No matter what you do, you can’t go out there and help the brothers out during bad stretches or during runs.

“I tried to be as much of a voice as I could, and I thought this gave me a really dope opportunity to not only learn how to use it but for me to understand the true power that my voice carries.

“I’m more of a lead-by-action type of person and that’s part of my evolution, part of the reason why this happened so I could work on my voice and my presence outside of just playing,” he added.

Suggs, the former Gonzaga Bulldogs standout, first dealt with a low back strain that forced him to miss 10 games (Jan. 5-23) and 14 more (Jan. 27-Feb. 27) because of a left quad contusion.

It wasn’t until a setback in practice that he realized something was wrong and surgery was required in early March, which shut down his season.

“Right now it’s just been strengthening my upper body, my lower body, ankles, and then getting my knee used to movement again,” Suggs said about his rehab.

“It feels a lot better. There’s no pain. There’s no … There’s just slight discomfort in some movements. Going at the pace that things are going, we’re trying to make sure that we’re ready for each step, each goal-marker as they come.”

Suggs believes he’ll be ready for the start of next season.

But he doesn’t believe he needs to change how he plays when he returns.

“I’m not changing a … thing; I’m not going to lie to you,” Suggs said. “I’m not changing anything. That’s what all this work is for, literally.”

Known for a physical style of play and defensive prowess – he earned NBA All-Defensive second-team honors a year ago – Suggs pushed back on the idea of “dialing it back” after his latest injury-plagued season.

As a rookie in 2021-22, he played just 48 games and saw a slight improvement to 53 the next season. Last year’s 75-game mark helped him earn a five-year, $150.5 million rookie contract extension that goes into effect next season.

He’ll make more money next year ($35 million) than he had the past four combined on his rookie deal ($29.9 million).

“ ‘Dialing it back’ is the wrong word to use,” Suggs said. “Yes, you can be smarter and more efficient, I would say, but you get to overthinking it too much and trying to change your approach to the game. It completely changes who you are. This is the way I’ve played all of my life and as I’ve grown I’ve gotten more mature, smarter.

“Even this year, I thought my pace and control was a lot better than last year in throwing my body around and playing at full speed. I feel the changes happening but as far as my approach to the game, and that it’s just part of it, I’m not going to change, to be honest.”

In the 35 games he did play, Suggs averaged 16.2 points, 4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals during 28.6 minutes.

His role changed significantly first when Paolo Banchero went down in the fifth game of the season because of a torn right abdominal muscle and then again when Franz Wagner suffered the same injury in late November.

His first career 30-plus point game came Nov. 27 vs. Chicago, scoring 31 points, and he topped that career-high with 32 on Dec. 10 at Milwaukee.

“I took on a bit more responsibility, which I hadn’t done in a while,” Suggs said. “That gave me really great perspective feeling the positions that Franz and Paolo are in a lot, having to lead while doing those things … just something that really hadn’t happened yet.

“I was a completely different human during that stretch when I was trying to do that,” he added.

Suggs, Banchero and Wagner played just six games together after seeing the court together 63 times the season prior.

Following two first-round exits, the second of which he wasn’t a part of because of injury, Suggs is ready to help guide Orlando deeper into the playoffs alongside Banchero and Wagner.

“I’m just tired of losing,” he said. “We have great people; we have a great team. … I’ve won a lot throughout my lifetime and I feel like I’m obsessed now with figuring out this answer and getting to the pinnacle of this level because it’s the only one I haven’t done it at yet.”

But first a “heavily rehab-focused” offseason awaits him.

“My mindset is preparing to get back to where we just came from, which is the playoffs,” Suggs said. “I waited all year for it and then had to miss it.”