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James Brown

Under the radar: Banchero bringing orlando back to relevancy

The Orlando Magic last made the playoffs in the 2019/20 and 2018/19 seasons and both were met with expected first-round exits to the Bucks and Raptors respectively. The last time they made it past the first round was the 2009/10 season during the Dwight Howard years when they lost to Boston in the conference finals. In the ten years between playoff appearances Orlando were essentially bottom feeders, finishing no higher than 11th in the East. After a long rebuilding process, Orlando is quietly positioning itself as a top 5 team in the East with one of the youngest rosters and Paolo Banchero at the helm.


Orlando currently sits 5th in the Eastern Conference with a 41-28 record, 2.5 games ahead of Philadelphia in 6th and 2.5 games back from Cleveland in 3rd. Before the season started there were very few who expected Orlando to be here now. The Athletic had them finishing 13th with a 32-50 record. Orlando surpassed that win total in February. 

The Magic’s success can be attributed to the play of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and the rest of their young core who seem to even out their contribution each game. Banchero’s play earned him his first All-Star appearance which was well deserved and Orlando’s first representative since Nikola Vucevic in 2021. Banchero is averaging 22.7 PPG, 5.3 AST and 6.7 REB while F. Wagner, M. Wagner, Suggs, Anthony and Carter Jr are all averaging over 11 PPG. The rest of the rotation also boasts productivity, with Fultz, Harris, Issac and Bitadze filling up the rest of the minutes. 


At the age of 21, Banchero is leading this team into a new era. When watching him play you can’t help but notice the similarities with LeBron and Doncic in terms of how he uses his size, handles and fluidity to get to his spot offensively. He also boasts the 21st-ranked defensive rating which is the best on the team and sets a defensive precedent across the franchise. When your leader and best player is also leading you defensively, that’s only a recipe for a culture of success and grit. This has been prevalent in Orlando’s play this year with their defense currently ranked 4th in the league.


Head coach Jamahl Mosley deserves a lot of recognition for the job he has done with the 5th youngest team in the NBA, especially when looking at the records of other young teams such as the Hornets, Spurs, Blazers and Jazz who will all likely miss the play-in tournament. Mosley was rewarded with well deserved a four-year contract extension last week which signifies the stellar job he has done turning around a franchise and achieving success with such a young core of talent.


If the playoffs started today, Orlando would be matched up with the Knicks, a defensively focused series where Orlando could cause problems. Magic fans will hope for a more competitive series than those against Milwaukee and Toronto where they lost both series 4-1. It would be surprising if Orlando does not walk away with at least multiple wins in the first round, whether they are matched up with the Knicks or Cavs. If Cleveland continues to struggle with injuries they could fall to the 4th seed and this would be a better matchup for Orlando and would present them with their best chance of advancing to the second round for the first time since 2010. Let's not forget how Cleveland crumbled to a 4-1 defeat in the first round last year facing a lower-seeded Knicks team, Orlando is more than capable of pulling off a similar feat. Regardless of the outcome of this season, Orlando deserves a lot of credit for the season they have put together. The Magic are here to stay and we can expect them to become and remain a playoff team in the East as long as Banchero is leading the way.

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