Can the Orlando Magic build on last season's playoff appearance?

 

The Orlando Magic are coming off a season in which they went 41-41 overall, finishing 7th in the Eastern Conference. After surviving the NBA playoffs play-in tournament, they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics in five games. This year, with a new logo, they are hoping to have an improved season and make more noise in the Eastern Conference this year.

The Magic return their core in third year forward Paolo Banchero (25.9 points & 7.5 rebounds), fourth year forward Franz Wagner (24.2 points & 5.7 rebounds), and fourth year guard Jalen Suggs (16.2 points & 3.7 assists). When healthy, that's a difficult trio to stop. There's a nice blend of inside and outside scoring there. On top of that, they acquired shooting guard Desmond Bane from the Grizzlies in a trade while giving up Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, and some draft picks. Bane is coming off a season in which he averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, so on paper he's a legit addition to their team. 

The problem the Magic had last year was staying healthy. Banchero played in only 46 games and Suggs played in just 35 games due to various injuries. And then Wagner played in 60 games due to minor injuries and load management. They just weren't able to have those guys on the court together long enough to make a serious push for a top four seed in the conference. That's where I think Bane is supposed to come in. He played in 69 games last year, starting 68 of those games. He was able to stay healthy for most of the season and hopefully will be able to give the Magic more stability this season. 

The Magic have to feel hopeful that if they can keep their guys healthy, they could do some real damage. The fact that they were still able to get the 7th seed has to give them a lot of confidence. If they can accomplish that with two of their top three players missing all the games that they missed, there's no telling what they can do if they stay healthy along with the addition of Bane. 

Of course, staying healthy is never a given and it's important to have guys who can step up if needed. One guy to keep an eye on is rookie guard Jase Richardson, son of former Golden State Warriors star Jason Richardson. Richardson was the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Michigan State and will look to provide a similar type of energy that his dad did when he came into the NBA. If Richardson can provide a spark, that would be huge. 

All in all, I'm cautiously optimistic about this Magic team. They are returning their key pieces and are also a very young team. If the stars align for these guys, I don't see why they can't be a top four team in the Eastern Conference and possibly be a dark horse team to reach the NBA Finals. 

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