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[Saba Sports News] Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane didn’t hold back when reflecting on the practice facility of his former team.
Bane, who was traded to the Magic last week in a surprising blockbuster deal, spent his first five NBA seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Following the trade, a 2022 social media post from Bane resurfaced in which he shared photos of Orlando’s modern practice facility, joking that Memphis “needed” something similar.
Now that he’s actually in Orlando, Bane finally got to see the facility firsthand — and he didn’t waste time drawing a comparison.
“[The Magic facility] is different, bro. The one in Memphis, we didn’t have one window,” Bane said Tuesday. “We joked around and called it the dungeon. This is a breath of fresh air. You can literally step outside and get a breath of fresh air and eat on the patio. There’s an indoor and outdoor training facility. All the bells and whistles are in here.”
The Magic’s AdventHealth Training Center opened in 2022 and is one of the most advanced in the league. Meanwhile, Memphis still operates out of its original facility at FedExForum, which opened back in 2004 — when Magic star Paolo Banchero was still in diapers.
Now in Orlando, Bane will be expected to make the most of those upgraded amenities. The 6’5″ guard has averaged 17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game across five seasons, with his assist numbers climbing above five per game over the past two years.
With the Magic betting big on Bane’s development, he’ll be relied on to anchor the backcourt and help unlock the full potential of young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.