NBA Star Jonathan Isaac Signs 5-Year Extension with Orlando Magic
By Movieguide® Contributor
Outspoken Christian and NBA star, Jonathan Isaac, isn’t going anywhere, as he just signed a five-year, $84 million contract with the Orlando Magic.
Isaac is considered one of the best defenders in the league. Last year he averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game coming off of the bench. For his efforts, he was nominated for NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He also helped lift the team to its first playoff berth in four years and its first winning season in five.
While he is a great player on the court, Isaac is perhaps better known for his outspokenness off the court. In 2020 during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Isaac chose to stand during the National Anthem while the rest of the league kneeled.
“[I was watching] what happened to George Floyd and, as tragic as it was, trying to work through what is the best way to respond or if I need to respond at all. I was almost forced to because, once we get into the [NBA] bubble, there is this immense pressure on NBA players to have to kneel for the National Anthem and wear a Black Lives Matter TV shirt,” he explained in 2022.
“I know that the answer is going to be, and the answer is not going to be kneeling,” he continued. “The answer isn’t going to be a movement or an organization. The answer is going to be the heart of men being changed — both white and black, both right and left.”
“I knew what I was standing for was dear to me. I knew I believed that the Gospel was going to be the answer for the world, that all of us saying that we all fall short of God’s glory, and that if we’re throwing stones at anybody else — at a different color, at a different individual – we’re throwing stones from a glass house because we’ve done wrong too,” Isaac added. “We are all in need of grace.”
Though he faced great criticism for this decision, Isaac turned that publicity into an opportunity to share the Gospel and talk about his faith.
Looking to give others an opportunity to share their faith, Isaac launched a collection of basketball shoes — the Judah 1’s — which boast Bible verses on their heel. The shoes are a part of his clothing brand, UNITUS, which is focused on promoting freedom and positive values.
“UNITUS is desperately needed today because more and more brands in the sports and leisure wear space are abandoning the consumer’s desire for them to be impartial on matters of culture, spirituality, and politics,” Isaac told Faithwire. “Many brands have overtly endorsed harmful and divisive ideologies that have left consumers looking for alternatives.”
It is encouraging to see a man of faith do so well in the league and make a difference with the platform that he has been given.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Nearly two years ago, on July 31, 2020, Jonathan Isaac became the first NBA player to stand for the national anthem while teammates and peers around the league knelt.
Isaac recently published his first book called Why I Stand, which explains why he chose to abstain from wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt and kneel with the rest of the league.
In the book, Isaac explains that he could not find the answer to life’s many hardships when he looked to the world.
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the answer because he’s been the answer for me and I’m able to put it into a book and share my story and my testimony,” Isaac told The Christian Post. “To me, that gives ‘the stand’ its backbone.”
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