ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic acquired the draft rights to University of South Florida big man Izaiyah Nelson, the 51st selection in the 2026 NBA Draft, as part of a three-team trade that sent the 46th pick to Washington and the 60th selection to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said the 6-foot-10, 218-pound forward’s relentless style made him a natural fit for new head coach Sean Sweeney, the 16th head coach in franchise history, who emphasized two-way intensity during his introductory press conference. “The team takes on the personality of its coach,” Weltman said. “I think Izaiyah already has that … One of the things we thought would be a good fit was Izaiyah’s blue-collar, hard-hat mentality playing for Sean Sweeney. I think they’ll fit really well together.”

Nelson, 22, ranked 18th nationally in rebounding at 9.6 boards per outing and ninth in double-doubles with 18 last season, using a massive 72.5-inch wingspan to disrupt opponents on both ends. He swept the 2025-26 American Conference Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards after leading USF to 25 wins — tying the program’s all-time record — and the Bulls’ first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012.

“He’s outstanding physically,” Weltman said. “He’s an outstanding athlete. He tested in the 90th percentile in all the metrics (at the NBA Draft Combine) in Chicago. He’s gotten better every year. And mostly, he’s about the grind. He’s really all about it.”

Nelson’s competitiveness was on display immediately. When Weltman and Sweeney called him from the draft room, Nelson told them he was planning to drive over from Tampa on Thursday morning and beat them into the building for workouts at the AdventHealth Training Center. ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas praised Nelson’s versatility: “He does it on every area of play on both ends of the floor.”

Weltman said Nelson’s value extends beyond traditional statistics. “(Team success) is really his lead trait,” Weltman said. “If you were a scout, you track guys, like Sean said during his press conference, that make invisible plays. This is a guy that makes so many invisible plays. He gets you so many extra possessions. Great offensive rebounder, runner, hit-first guy. All the things he does are about winning. I don’t know how he’s going to fill out a box score, but I know he’s going to make a team better. That’s really all that matters, and he knows that. It’s pretty rare for a rookie to come out with that kind of knowledge.”

Nelson is expected to report to the AdventHealth Training Center on Thursday morning to begin workouts with the Magic ahead of summer league.