The rosters for the NBA All-Star Game’s Rising Stars Challenge came out in January and Jonathan Isaac was not on it.
That was understandable — even to Jonathan Isaac. He missed most of his rookie year with a sprained ankle and was still finding his footing in his second year. Isaac was not putting up crazy numbers and not getting much notice.
Isaac was starting by this time, but his role was more about doing the little things. He was a supporting player who had not quite found his footing yet.
The easy narrative — although Isaac is probably too humble to admit it — was that Isaac took the snub from the Rising Stars Challenge to start his tear that helped propel the Orlando Magic into the playoffs.