Jonathan Judah Isaac (born October 3, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Orlando Magic of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for one season for the Florida State Seminoles. Isaac was selected sixth overall by the Magic in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

High school career

Isaac first attended

Barron Collier High School Barron G. Collier High School is a four-year public high school located in North Naples, Collier County, Florida, United States, near Pine Ridge and about northeast of the city of Naples. Barron Collier was included in ''Newsweek''s 2006 list ...

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

during his freshman and sophomore years. In his junior and senior years, he attended the

International School of Broward The International School of Broward is a charter school in Hollywood, Florida, United States, that offers a two way language immersion, immersion program with French language, French and English language, English. It was founded in 2007 by Dr. Jac ...

in Hollywood, Florida. However, as a result of wanting to be

reclassified ''Reclassified'' is the reissue of Australians, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut studio album, ''The New Classic'' (2014). It was released internationally on 21 November 2014 by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on 24 November ...

as part of the high school class of 2016, Isaac also attended

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

for what was considered to be a

postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

in 2016. As a senior in 2016, he averaged 17.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game while leading IMG Academy to a 21–10 overall record. In his high school career, he grew six inches from his freshman year to his senior year, going from a combo guard of sorts to the combo forward he is today. Isaac was selected to play in the 2016

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

and

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international ...

All-Star games. Isaac was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No.12 overall recruit and No.4 Small forward in the 2016 high school class. On July 5, 2015, Isaac confirmed that he was going to commit to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

after his senior year of high school ended. On February 5, 2016, he announced his intention of testing the possibility of entering the 2016 NBA draft as the first American postgraduate to jump directly from high school to the NBA draft since 2005. He was also considered a prospect that could have been taken in the middle or late first round had he committed to it. Four days after making that announcement, however, Isaac confirmed that he was not going to enter the 2016 draft after all and reaffirmed his intentions of playing with Florida State for the 2016–17 season.

College career

Before the 2016–17 season began, Isaac was considered a preseason watch for the

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded ...

. Isaac would record his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 100–71 win over

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

on November 20. He'd earned the ACC Freshman of the Week award for his performances from November 15–21, 2016. On January 18, 2017, Isaac recorded 23 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high 7 blocks in a win over the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. On February 8, 2017, Isaac scored 21 points in a 95–71 victory against the NC State Wolfpack. Throughout the season, Isaac was considered a team leader alongside fellow prospects

Dwayne Bacon Dwayne Lee Bacon Jr. (born August 30, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He has also played for the Charlotte Hornets and the Orlando Magic in the National Bas ...

and

Xavier Rathan-Mayes Xavier Rathan-Mayes (born April 29, 1994) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. High school career Born in Markha ...

, to the point where they at one point were considered the sixth-best team in the nation. As the second seed in the ACC tournament, Florida State beat

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

in the quarterfinals, but lost to Notre Dame in the semi-finals. His team then proceeded to the NCAA Tournament, where they were seeded 3rd in the West. They won their first-round game 86–80 against FGCU at

Amway Center Amway Center is an indoor arena located in Downtown Orlando, Florida. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, and the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League. Amway Center hosted the 2012 N ...

in Orlando, Florida. However, they lost in the round of 32 in a blowout upset against 11th-seeded Xavier, 91–66. Isaac scored just 25 points in two games In his NCAA Tournament career. At the conclusion of his freshman season, he was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team of 2017. In addition to that, Isaac announced his intention to forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the

where he was projected as a lottery first round selection. He was the second player in Florida State's basketball history to leave as a one-and-done prospect, behind

Malik Beasley Malik JonMikal Beasley (born November 26, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Saint Francis School in Alpharetta, Georgia, and played one seaso ...

in 2016.

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2017–present)

On June 22, 2017, Isaac was selected with the sixth overall pick in the

by the Orlando Magic. On December 28, he was ruled out with a right ankle sprain. On February 23, 2018, he was assigned to the

Lakeland Magic The Lakeland Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Lakeland, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season and play their home games at the RP Fundi ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

for rehabilitation purposes. In his second year in the league, Isaac became a starter for the Magic in 64 games, posting career-high averages in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks per game. On January 31, 2019, he recorded a career-high 13 rebounds in a 107–100 win over the Indiana Pacers. On February 10, he matched his career-high of 5 blocks, to go along with 17 points and 2 steals in a 124–108 win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. On February 12, he scored a career-high 20 points in a 118–88 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Isaac improved on his previous career-high in scoring by posting 24 points in a 95–104 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

on October 28, 2019. On January 1, 2020, he suffered a posterior lateral corner injury and a medial bone contusion in his left knee during a 122–101 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

and was expected to be sidelined for about eight to ten weeks. On August 2, Isaac suffered a torn left

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL) during a 132–116 win over the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

hosted in the

2020 NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble, also referred to as the Disney Bubble or the Orlando Bubble, was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its p ...

. Isaac later underwent successful surgery on August 7 to repair his torn left ACL and

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

, and was expected to miss the remainder of

2019–20 NBA season The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. However, the season was suspended on March 11 as a resul ...

. On August 31, Magic team president

Jeff Weltman Jeff Weltman is an American basketball executive who is the president of basketball operations for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2020, Weltman received one 1st place vote for NBA Executive of the Year. Ea ...

confirmed Isaac would also miss the entire 2020–21 season with the injury. On March 15, 2022, Weltman announced that Isaac would miss the remainder of the

2021–22 NBA season The 2021–22 NBA season was the 76th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA returned to a full 82-game regular season in its normal mid-October to mid-April schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 NBA season, aft ...

due to the injury. He had not yet played during the season. On March 22, Isaac suffered a minor injury to his right hamstring during his rehab and underwent a surgical procedure. On January 10, 2023, Isaac was assigned to the Magic's

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate for just one game. On January 23, he returned to the court after over two and a half years, recording 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals in 9 minutes in a 113–98 win over the Boston Celtics. On February 28, during practice in Milwaukee, Isaac felt discomfort, and an MRI a day later revealed a torn left adductor muscle. On March 3, he underwent season-ending surgery to address the injury.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 27 , , 10 , , 19.9 , , .379 , , .348 , , .760 , , 3.7 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 64 , , 26.6 , , .429 , , .323 , , .815 , , 5.5 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 32 , , 29.2 , , .470 , , .340 , , .779 , , 6.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 2.3 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 11.3 , , .415 , , .400 , , .556 , , 4.0 , , .5 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 147 , , 106 , , 24.7 , , .434 , , .333 , , .789 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , 9.0

Playoffs

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2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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, 5 , , 5 , , 27.4 , , .275 , , .200 , , .875 , , 6.2 , , .4 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 5 , , 27.4 , , .275 , , .200 , , .875 , , 6.2 , , .4 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 6.6

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 26.2 , , .508 , , .348 , , .780 , , 7.8 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , 12.0

Personal life

Isaac is one of six children born to Jackie Allen. He has one older sister, two older brothers, and two younger brothers. Isaac is of Puerto Rican descent due to his maternal grandfather and is eligible to play for the Puerto Rican national team. Isaac is a Christian conservative member of the Republican Party who has preached at Jump Ministries Global Church in Orlando. In a July 31, 2020, game against the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

in the NBA Bubble, Isaac was the only player to stand during the U.S. national anthem. When asked about this decision after the game, he responded, "I believe that black lives matter. A lot went into my decision ... It's my thought that kneeling or wearing a 'Black Lives Matter' t-shirt don't go hand in hand with supporting black lives." Isaac spoke at the ReAwaken America Tour on standing during the anthem and declining the COVID-19 vaccine.

Books

On May 17, 2022, Isaac's first book ''Why I Stand'' was published. In the book, Isaac shares how his Christian faith shaped his life and helped him overcome various struggles.

References

External links

*
Florida State Seminoles bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Jonathan 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players African-American Christians American men's basketball players American people of Puerto Rican descent Basketball players from Florida Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players IMG Academy alumni Lakeland Magic players Orlando Magic draft picks Orlando Magic players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Naples, Florida Basketball players from the Bronx