Orlando Magic: Evan Fournier Is Magic’s Wildcard

By Luke Duffy | Sep 9, 2014

Apr 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets shooting guard Evan Fournier (94) tries to keep the ball inbounds against Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter (0) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Even before the FIBA World Championship began, Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic had the requisite skill set to be a hit with the team. Never really given a chance with the Denver Nuggets, the 20th pick in the 2012 NBA draft showed enough glimpses of offensive talent with his previous team to excite the fans in Orlando.

But then the World Cup did begin and Fournier pulled on the French national jersey, and now we have some proof as to why this guy can be just what the team needs at times next season.

More from Orlando Magic

For those of you not watching the international tournament, Fournier had a terrible group stage of the competition. Buried on the bench and in the rotation, he saw no significant time on the court as France advanced to the knockout stages. When he did check in, he was just plain awful.

He shot a lot given his minutes, and missed essentially everything. His mechanics looked off, his game looked unsuited to international play, and it was generally just awful to witness.

But Fournier didn’t stop believing in himself and taking those shots. Quickly things started to change, to the point that France is into the quarterfinals of the tournament off a man of the match display from the shooting guard. Thirteen points he had in the win over Croatia, which may not seem like a whole bunch, but five of them came at a time when the tricky Eastern Europeans were looking like they would come back and win the game.

With Tony Parker not playing, this French outfit is in need of players to step up, and in Fournier they have found a guy.

Some more good news for Magic fans. The guy is only 21 years old. He has experience in the league and is growing into a go to international player over the course of a couple of weeks, and you better believe all of these things will make him a better player for the team once the season begins.

There are far more reasons why he can be this team’s wildcard, its x-factor, next year.

In case you didn’t notice, the Magic have a player who plays the same position as Fournier who just so happens to be the current face of the franchise. His name is Victor Oladipo and he is absolutely this team’s starting 2 guard next season. That is unless he continues to be used as a point guard as he was a lot his rookie year, but we are going to work under the assumption this will not be the case.

Fournier has become something of a spark plug for his national team in Spain in this tournament, and as we’ve said he’s got the belief within himself to keep trying things on the court. So coming off the bench and averaging about 25 minutes a night, expect this guy to light up opposing second units in the league.

His 8.4 points averaged last season isn’t noteworthy, but it did come on 19 minutes of play a night and as an afterthought on the offensive end. This new and improved Fournier with the French team seems a lot more of the ball, and he is beginning to learn to do the right things when he has it in his hands.

Of course it’s not all positive, and it goes without saying that’s he’s not much of a defender. However at 6’6″, he can be a pest on the defensive end of the floor. Interestingly enough, last season he grabbed 12 percent of all rebounds when he was on the floor, which for a guard is impressive in itself.

Certainly the potential to have more of an impact on the defensive end exists.

The word impact though is really a great way to sum up what this guy can do for the Magic next season. He will be the primary scorer for the second unit, and if he sees some minutes with the starters look for him to make a mark there, as well. His sudden prominence with France illustrates perfectly how he is the “plug-in” kind of player every team needs.

He may go cold at times, but he’ll just back his ability and eventually play himself out of his personal funk. This is a skill not every player possesses.

With the injury to Paul George with Team USA before the international tournament began, there have been some negative vibes around NBA players risking themselves in this competition. Not Evan Fournier though–he has taken his opportunity to get some game time and experience under his belt and bring it back to the league when it starts up again in the not too distance future.

Truth be told, he didn’t even grab his opportunity with both hands either. Already this summer he messed up a few times, but looks to have now come good. We won’t know for sure until the season begins how much this guy can bring to the Magic, but a lot of people are sleeping on the considerable talents he is exhibiting on the world stage right now.

Catch him while you can before everybody else is talking about how vital and unique he is for Orlando.

Home/Orlando Magic