Orlando Magic guard RJ Hampton hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 19, missing a total of 14 straight games. The former first-round pick is expected to return when the Magic host the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. ET on Friday in their first game out of the All-Star break.
Hampton has been out for more than a month after suffering an MCL sprain and a bone bruise in his left knee and will return to a team in the midst of rebuilding, having lost four in a row and six of his last seven. Entering Thursday, Orlando is an NBA worst 13-47.
Less than a week after being selected 24th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 NBA Draft, Hampton was traded to the Denver Nuggets in a monster four-team trade that also involved the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans. Then in March of his rookie season, the Dallas, Texas native was traded to the Magic along with Gary Harris and a future first-round pick for Gary Clark and Aaron Gordon.
With a Denver team in contention, Hampton is averaging just 9.3 minutes per game over 25 games, but with Orlando the youngster has posted 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 25 .2 minutes per tilt in 26 games. In 42 games this season, Hampton has recorded 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 19.4 minutes per game.
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