ORLANDO, Fla. — Just two days after he was drafted No. 18 overall by the Orlando Magic, Tristan da Silva said he is excited to get to work and feels fortunate to be joining a young team that is on the rise.

"I feel good going into a situation where I know there’s a lot of players who are in a kind of similar mind space as me, and the same chapter in their career," da Silva said. "They might have already played for three years. But I’m really excited to join that team and complement them."

The Magic brought da Silva, his parents Christine and Valdemar da Silva and members of his management team to Orlando and introduced the forward to the community on Friday.

"Some of the craziness of that particular draft helped us to have things break our way. Ultimately, we were thrilled to walk away with Tristan da Silva," President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said.

According to Weltman, the Magic were looking for five attributes as they went into the draft — shooting, skill, IQ, character and positional size.

"Tristan checks all the boxes for us," he said. ”Within the IQ box is quick decision-making. That is something that increasing valuable in the NBA.”

Da Silva, 23, said he believes his four years of college basketball at Colorado and the training he received in his native Germany gave him confidence.

He said his understanding of the term "basketball IQ" is it's just being a smart player.

"(It's) having intelligence of the game, understanding positions, understanding advantages, understanding where you have to be on the floor," da Silva explained. "And understanding that minimal changes are going to make a big impact on the possession or on the play. A step too far to the right or to the left, and it already might mess up the whole spacing. That’s something I’m really big on is being detail-oriented in that sense, and it’s going to create an advantage for you offensively and also defensively being in the right spot and knowing where you all are at all times."

Da Silva increased his scoring each year of college and averaged 16 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.9 minutes per game his senior season. He shot 39.5% (64-162) from 3-point range and 83.5% (86-103) at the free-throw line and was an All Pac-12 second-team selection. In Germany, he played for Schwabing in the Regionalliga and with IBA Muenchen in the NBBL.

He joins a team that has increased its number of wins by double digits each of the past two seasons and made it to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2020. Da Silva, 6 feet, 8 inches tall and 217 pounds, will join a frontcourt that is led by All-Star Paolo Banchero, who is 6-10 and 250 pounds, and another German, Franz Wagner, who is 6-10 and 220 pounds. 

"I feel like I’m going to be real comfortable coming into this new situation, because I know what kind of player I am," he said. "I know how I can help my team. I know how to fit in right with this group. Those four years definitely helped me a lot to polish my game and understand where my strengths are and (how) to apply it to the next level."

Getting drafted left Da Silva with a lot emotions.

"A lot of excitement. A lot of joy. A lot of happiness," he said. "Just being proud to do that with my family and with my friends.”

The moment was fulfilling, he said, because he appreciates the support of his family and friends and the coaching and training he received at Colorado and in Germany so he could become a first-round selection in the NBA Draft.

"It feels good to finally get here and to finally get settled a little bit and to have certainty," da Silva said. "I feel like that’s a big thing as well because there’s so much going on on draft night. And then to finally hear your name called and knowing where you end up and knowing the people you’re going to be around is very comforting, very settling.”

He said he can't wait to get started. 

"Now the real work starts," da Silva said.

He said he sees a pattern in the steps he has taken to get this far. The biggest jump was moving to the United States from Germany to play college basketball and having the trust to put his game in the hands of his coaches at Colorado.

Now, his career is at least partly in the hands of the Magic coaching staff and management, along with his new teammates, and he must have trust in them, too, he said.

“I feel like I’m a master at adapting," da Silva said. "Plus, I have two Germans on the team (Franz and Moe Wagner), so it’s going to be easy to adjust.”

In other Magic news, Weltman announced Friday that the team had extended a qualifying offer to guard Trevelin Queen, who last season played on a two-way contract with Orlando and its G League team, the Osceola Magic. Terms of the offer were not revealed, per team policy.

Queen will become a restricted free agent on Monday. By extending him a qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline, the Magic gained the right to match any offer he receives in free agency.

He played 14 games for Orlando last season, averaging 2.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.8 minutes per game. He also played and started in 19 regular-season games with Osceola, averaging 22.3 points, 7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.26 steals in 33.8 minutes per game. Queen was named to the 2023-24 All-NBA G League Second Team and the 2023-24 NBA G League All-Showcase Team. He was also named MVP of the 2024 NBA G League Up Next Game as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.