The Orlando Magic have their guy.
Fans erupted inside the Amway Center on draft night at this realization when the Toronto Raptors selected Scottie Barnes with the fourth overall pick and left Jalen Suggs to go to the Orlando Magic with the fifth pick. It felt like something had finally broken the Magic’s way.
The star guard the team had long sought after really since losing Tracy McGrady had fallen into their laps. That might be putting too much pressure on a young guard to fulfill. Then again, it is safe to say Jalen Suggs is the best guard prospect the Magic have drafted since Anfernee Hardaway in 1993.
And all this is coming at the beginning stages of a rebuild after nearly a decade of irrelevancy with just two playoff appearances to the team’s name.
All Suggs, along with a young roster that includes a first-time head coach, has to do is help establish the team’s culture and plant the seeds for the next contender in this franchise’s history.
Again, no pressure.
Drafting a player of Jalen Suggs’ abilities and potential has the Orlando Magic looking toward a brighter future. As they begin to rebuild, they need their star draftee to set the tone and culture for their team.
Since the franchise has selected Suggs, the coaches have to put this rookie guard in a favorable position to be successful early and build this team. More than anything, the Magic have to figure out just what Suggs’ potential is this season so they can begin building around him and with him as they start this long journey.
If there is one thing the Magic know so far, it is that Suggs is certainly capable of being up for the challenge — even if nobody is putting all this narrative pressure on him internally.
The 6-foot-6, 180-pound Suggs has the ability to carry and lead a team. He showed that throughout his only year at Gonzaga as he led his team to an undefeated regular-season record and the national championship game.
He averaged 14.4 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game, but stepped up in several key moments. Even though he was a freshman on a veteran team, Suggs was the guy who took the big shots and had the penchant to finish games off.
He was that team’s leader in critical moments.
That was evident when he stepped up with a key block and then, finally, the game-winning three in overtime of their Final Four game against UCLA. That was a shot that took bravery, at the very least.
That was also evident during Summer League with his new team. With the Magic trailing in the fourth quarter, Suggs took over with a key 3-pointer to give the team the lead and then finally a crazy block that sent the game in overtime.
Facing down a 2-on-1 fast break and coming up with the defensive play only increased the excitement Magic fans shared when he miraculously fell to them with the fifth overall pick.
He has the ability to be very physical on both ends of the floor too.
In high school, he was a dual-threat type of quarterback that could take off and run to pick up the first down. He had offers from major FBS schools in football just as basketball.
That physicality was shown inside of the painted area when Suggs decides to force his way down the lane to score a basket, and he will continue to get stronger as he gets older.
This is a culture changer for a franchise in dire need of a playmaking shooting guard who can play both sides of the ball. Defense has always been a focal point for the Magic and now that their newest addition takes the defensive side of the ball seriously, the others can follow his lead.
Adding a culture-changing lottery pick who plays good perimeter defense is something that can catapult this franchise in short order. This can become a team on the verge of a stiff defense with Jonathan Isaac coming back sometime during this season from a gruesome knee injury.
Defense can at least get the team’s foot in the door of playoff contention quickly. And it is clear that Orlando is hoping the team’s defense can be its backbone, hoping to grow offense from it.
Suggs can change the team’s culture because he loves to defend. Having the best player on the team committed on defense goes a long way to getting others to follow. His enthusiasm should bring a level of comfort and allow others to become the best version of themselves.
It will be important for Suggs to continue playing good defense and set the tone defensively throughout the year because a leader shows by example. Those three blocks against the Warriors in Summer League very much put a different level of confidence in his teammates.
But it is not only Suggs’ defense that has everyone excited. His offensive abilities made him one of the elite prospects in this year’s draft.
Some fans believe Suggs can be a go-to type of perimeter player, one who is not a liability on the defensive end. He showed flashes of a star player in the 2021 Summer League.
Suggs made his summer league debut against the Golden State Warriors and impressed after scoring 24 points grabbing nine rebounds and getting three blocks and two steals in a 91-89 win.
But that was the Summer League and none of his peers are leaning on what they saw after being selected by Orlando with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Suggs has it all, he has the ability to play the point and shooting guard and the ability to defend both positions as well. He was the leader on an undefeated Gonzaga team that ended up losing to Baylor in the NCAA Tournament final.
If Suggs can get the support he needs from the others on the squad this team can be a sleeper team to make the eighth seed in a top-heavy Eastern Conference.
Even if he does not have the ability to elevate this team to an eighth seed his presence needs to be felt around the league. Suggs can at least give hints that this is where the team is headed and headed quickly.
A team goes as far as its best player can take them. The Magic are eager to see just how far Suggs can go in his rookie year and beyond. And just what kind of culture they can grow around him.