{"id":529954,"date":"2026-01-11T17:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T17:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/529954\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T17:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T17:56:13","slug":"desmond-bane-meets-and-greets-with-orlando-magic-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/529954\/","title":{"rendered":"Desmond Bane meets and greets with Orlando Magic fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost halfway through his first season with the Magic<\/a>, newcomer guard Desmond Bane<\/a> has learned plenty about the fans who support the organization.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s heard them cheer him on from the stands and has interacted with some inside Kia Center<\/a>, Bane took the opportunity to make his first public appearance in Orlando<\/a> on Saturday to meet-and-greet with them in-person and sign some autographs.<\/p>\n

Magic fans didn\u2019t squander the chance to snap photos, shake hands and create memories with Bane when they lined up around the building of the SoDo Planet Fitness, not far from where the team wrapped up practice an hour earlier at the AdventHealth Training Center in preparation for Sunday\u2019s game against the Pelicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only way you really become part of the community,\u201d Bane said when asked why it was important for him to meet with fans Saturday. \u201cThem coming to basketball games and stuff like that is obviously one way to be around, but there\u2019s not too much that\u2019s personable about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese appearances and experiences are huge,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been almost seven months since the Magic acquired Bane in a blockbuster deal with the Grizzlies, who landed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony (now with the Bucks) and four future first-round picks in exchange for the then-26-year-old.<\/p>\n

Having spent the first five years of his career in Memphis, Bane and his family have adjusted swimmingly to their new lifestyle in Central Florida while taking in the sights and sounds around town.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still can\u2019t believe it\u2019s 75 degrees in January,\u201d Bane said with a grin. \u201cEvery time we travel and come home, it\u2019s such a refreshing feeling. The food scene is actually better than I had anticipated. We\u2019ve really enjoyed that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the kids of course, there\u2019s so much to do. It\u2019s been a perfect match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Bane has grown more and more comfortable with his new Magic teammates as the season has progressed, he still hadn\u2019t gotten a chance to step on the court with Moe Wagner.<\/p>\n

Around the same time Bane was meeting with fans, the team announced Wagner would be available to make his season debut Sunday against New Orleans, more than a year after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a return that took place just in time for Orlando\u2019s upcoming overseas trip to Berlin, Germany, the site of Thursday\u2019s contest between the Magic and Bane\u2019s former team, Memphis, in Wagner\u2019s hometown.<\/p>\n

The sides meet again three days later in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s told me about the energy and the swag that he plays with and brings,\u201d Bane said about Moe Wagner, whose younger brother Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain) remained out against New Orleans. \u201cSo, I can\u2019t wait to share the court with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything, I\u2019m just happy for him,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long journey fighting his way back. So, we\u2019re excited to welcome him back with open arms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bane\u2019s come to learn that Magic fans feel the same way about the 6-foot-11 center who last played Dec. 21, 2024 prior to Sunday. And the Magic guard appreciates their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s fans all over the place that love Magic basketball and really support Magic basketball,\u201d Bane said. \u201cIt\u2019s been nothing but love from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Up next \u2026<\/p>\n

Magic vs. Grizzlies<\/p>\n

When: 2 p.m., Thursday, Uber Arena (Berlin, Germany)<\/p>\n

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida\/Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost halfway through his first season with the Magic, newcomer guard Desmond Bane has learned plenty about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3779],"tags":[7,165,48,6,47,76,3883,1412,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-529954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando-magic","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-magic","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-orlando","13":"tag-orlando-magic","14":"tag-orlandomagic","15":"tag-social","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115877759297175752","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}