Three players may transform the Orlando Magic from a playoff squad to a serious contender.
Three players may transform the Orlando Magic from a playoff squad to a serious contender.
The Orlando Magic’s motto for the 2023 campaign was “leveling up.”
They were near the bottom of the standings at the end of their rebuilding 2022 season, gaining insight into the coaching philosophy of their new manager. Following a victory over the Miami Heat to close the season, Jamahl Mosley pushed his squad during the offseason and into the next campaign long before they were selected first overall.
Orlando felt like they had achieved that aim when they finished the season with 34 victories and a.500 record in the latter two-thirds of the season. Their new catchphrase was to just get this team to the next level, which meant making the playoffs the next year.
The 2024 season was another mission successfully completed. In order to win 47 games, qualify for the playoffs, and force the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in their first-round series, the Orlando Magic “leveled up” once more.
When the Magic play their 2025 season, the question that needs to be answered is how they “level up” from a playoff club to a contender.
This subject has already seen a great deal of written discussion. The majority of it has focused where it ought to: on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the two stars of the Magic.
The Magic will undoubtedly travel as far as those two players will. Furthermore, it is imperative that Wagner advance from a talented young player to an All-Star, and that Banchero make the leap from star to superstar.
