Magic's Paolo Banchero suffers high ankle sprain in loss to Timberwolves, reportedly could be out 4-6 weeks

The Orlando Magic need a spell to lift their injury curse. They've been haunted by ailments, the latest of which reportedly could sideline their best player for more than a month.

Magic star Paolo Banchero is now nursing a low-grade right high ankle sprain, the team announced Saturday . The injury, according to ESPN's Shams Charania , usually comes with a four-to-six-week recovery timeline.

Banchero, a 23-year-old one-time All-Star forward, exited a 115-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter Friday night and didn't return. Banchero sustained the injury in the first half, per the team.

He finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a setback that dropped the Magic to 0-2 in the infancy of Sean Sweeney's first season at the helm .

During the Magic's season-opening defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, Banchero piled up 35 points on 10-of-12 shooting, plus 10 assists and 7 rebounds.

The Duke product, whom Orlando selected No. 1 overall in the 2022 draft, is coming off a 2025-26 campaign that saw him average 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He helped the Magic reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season, except they were once again bounced in the first round.

Orlando blew a 3-1 lead to the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, leading to the firing of Jamahl Mosley, who's now the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Just before that coaching change, in the fallout of the Magic's collapse, Banchero admitted his group wasn't "good enough" at the time to make the Eastern Conference finals or NBA Finals.

Due to the Magic's injury woes, it's been difficult for them to realize their potential. Now, just two games into Sweeney's stint, Banchero is sidelined.

Last season, Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. were all on the floor together for just 182 minutes, according to ESPN , which also reported that, during that small sample size, the Magic outscored opponents by 45 points.

Banchero missed 36 games in 2024-25. Suggs wasn't on the court for 47 games that season. Wagner was out for 48 games last season and then notably wasn't available for the final three games of the first-round series versus the Pistons .