The Fantasy Basketball Encyclopedia

Player Dossier · Orlando Magic

Noah Penda

Noah Penda is Orlando's backup power forward entering a second season, a versatile connector whose rebounding, passing, and defensive events give him more fantasy pathways than his modest scoring suggests.

Related: Tristan da Silva · Jamal Cain · Jonathan Isaac · Jase Richardson

Information cutoff: 2026-07-18. Summer League lines are scouting signals, not NBA projections.

Projection card

GP MPG FG FT 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
68 10.0 .450 (1.2/2.7) .700 (0.4/0.6) 0.4 3.2 2.6 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.6

Healthy active-game allocation: 10 minutes. Confidence: medium on the role, low-medium on the minute total in a crowded forward group.

Correction 2026-07-18: this card previously projected 42 games at 1.0 MPG, which was both inconsistent with the 2025-26 baseline stated below (59 games at 12.8 minutes) and not a stat shape any NBA player produces — a fringe player records real minutes or a DNP, not a nightly single minute. Sports Illustrated's post-free-agency rotation projection lists Penda ninth on the roster as the backup power forward and expects a breakout second season, and Sweeney singled him out for effort and accountability at Summer League. Revised to 10 minutes as a second-unit forward. Source: SI Magic rotation projection.

2025-26 baseline

Orlando's official game notes list Penda at 59 games and 12.8 minutes, averaging 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. In two starts he averaged 7.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block.

That broad stat shape—rebounding, passing, and defensive events rather than pure scoring—gives him more fantasy pathways than a one-dimensional reserve. The 2026-27 healthy base sits slightly below his 2025-26 minutes because a healthy Wagner restores the forward queue, but he is inside the rotation rather than behind it.

Summer League signal

The repeated stocks plus the six-assist game are more meaningful than any single scoring total. They support a versatile connector archetype. They do not establish NBA shooting efficiency or a rotation guarantee.

Role and pathway

Penda is the backup power forward behind Banchero, sharing second-unit forward minutes with da Silva and situationally Isaac. He is also among the first names to absorb wing absences. A multiweek Wagner or Banchero absence can create 20-25 minutes; a fully healthy roster holds him near ten. Sweeney's stated emphasis on physicality and offensive-glass crashing is a direct fit for his rebounding.

Category shape

Format and market map

Format Base posture
9-cat redraft Undrafted, watch list
H2H points Waiver only after a role opens
Dynasty Deep stash; stronger than the base redraft line
Deep roto Intriguing if minutes exceed 18 because of across-the-board events

Hashtag's crowd keeper list placed him deep outside standard-league relevance, but July performance justifies monitoring before dynasty cuts. Fan predictions on Reddit were mixed and are treated only as sentiment.

Floor, base, and ceiling

Scenario Fantasy outcome
Floor DNPs and developmental assignments; no redraft value
Base 68 appearances at ten minutes; dynasty hold, deep-league watch
Ceiling 22 minutes as injury replacement, 8/6/3 with one-plus steal and useful blocks; deep-league add

Evidence trail

Career record

Pre-NBA: French, born January 7, 2005. Two seasons at JA Vichy-Clermont in LNB Pro B, the French second division — 3.9 points in 37 games as a 17-year-old in 2022-23, then 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in 37 games in 2023-24, earning Pro B Best Young Player. He moved up to Le Mans Sarthe Basket in the LNB Élite, France's top division, for 2024-25 and started at 19: 10.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, winning Pro A Best Young Player. Also an LNB All-Star and Young Star Game MVP in 2025, with bronze at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup and gold at the 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket (11.7 points in seven games). Draft: 2025, second round, 32nd overall, Boston; Orlando acquired his rights on draft night. He spent part of 2025-26 on assignment with the Osceola Magic.

Season Age Team GP MPG PTS REB AST STL BLK 3PM FG% FT% TO
2025-26 21 ORL 59 12.8 3.8 3.2 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.5 .404 .688 0.7
Career 59 12.8 3.8 3.2 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.5 .404 .688 0.7

Durability: 59 of 82 games as a rookie, with the absences a mix of rotation decisions and G League assignment rather than a documented injury. No availability concern in the record.

Trajectory: Two years of European first-division production followed by a rookie season that translated the shape but not the efficiency — the rebounding, passing and low-turnover profile all carried, while .404 from the field and .323 from three did not. He was already a starter in a top European league at 19, which is the reason to be patient. He enters 2026-27 as the backup power forward behind Banchero, sharing second-unit forward minutes with da Silva and Isaac, and is among the first replacements for a wing absence. He becomes fantasy-relevant if a multiweek Banchero or Wagner absence pushes him past 20 minutes, where the across-the-board counting profile — rebounds, secondary assists, steals and blocks together — produces deep-league value that his scoring alone never would.

Career sources: ESPN player stats · Wikipedia · NBA.com player page

Open questions