Jonathan Isaac Ready To Hit The Next Level

Second-year Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac had a quiet rookie season, but with his mind finally at peace and his body finally healthy, he's ready to hit the next level in his sophomore stint.

- Ryne Nelson

Wearing his blue plaid draft day jacket, palms sweating and visibly nervous, Jonathan Isaac walks to the podium to give his first sermon.

“This season is the best season of my life, but I’m not playing right now,” the 20-year-old Magic rookie tells the audience on a Sunday morning in mid-January.

Isaac injured his right ankle just three weeks into the season and hasn’t been fully healthy since. To say his rookie year hasn’t gone according to plan would be an understatement.

“There’s insecurities, and there’s doubt in my mind,” he continues. “Like, what are people thinking about me? Are people calling me a bust behind my back? Are my teammates, like, When is Jonathan going to play?”

“And I’m in the best season of my life because I’m growing [spiritually],” he says as the church erupts in applause. The jitters quickly melt away, and Isaac delivers a message—quite naturally and authentically—about receiving God’s blessings in 2018.

The sermon, streamed on YouTube, would later headline the NBA news cycle. Viewers commented, saying they were confused—what was this? And why?

Not playing and now misunderstood, on this mid-January morning, Jonathan Isaac is the most content he’s been in his life.

UNTIL THE AGE of 10, Isaac grew up in the streets of The Bronx, NY. When his parents separated, Isaac and his siblings moved with his mother to Golden Gate, FL, a neighborhood outside the wealthy city of Naples. No longer living in the inner city, Isaac began to meet kids from much different backgrounds.

“School was a big thing for me to get used to,” Isaac says. “Just being around different kids. Being around a lot of white kids. I was super aggressive as a kid. Got in trouble a whole bunch of times from being too aggressive.”