The Orlando Magic’s Summer League is coming to an end.
The team will close its five-game run in Las Vegas on Saturday against the Detroit Pistons. That means no Magic basketball again until late September when the team gathers again for training camp.
Paolo Banchero is expected to play in the Crawsover in Seattle, joining up with a team during the pro-am’s season already in progress. That will run through the end of August. And Eurobasket looms in September just before camp starts. It does not appear Franz Wagner will make his senior national team debut with Germany during this competition.
Everyone will just have to wait for camp to see this team back in action.
That wait is seemingly something everyone is eager for. Banchero gave the team a taste of what the top overall pick could do during his brief Summer League run. That was the biggest takeaway and biggest moment for the team during this week in Las Vegas. And it was all too short.
Still, it was a big impression.
The Orlando Magic are closing their time in Las Vegas. Plenty of players showed out and plenty left more to be desired as their Summer League concludes.
The Magic had their own goals in Summer League. They were still layering on the foundations of their offensive and defensive system and building their culture. That part was still on display throughout the course of Summer League.
In that sense, the Magic have to consider their Summer League run a success. They won their two games with Banchero playing and they seemed to carry over the spirit that made the end of their 2022 season feel so disappointing.
Still, Summer League is as much about individual players and evaluating the players on the roster as it is about the team-building that happens. Summer League does not matter from a team perspective as much as it means a lot more to the players playing in it. Many of them are auditioning for their future jobs.
There were players who took steps forward and were impressive during the Magic’s Summer League runs. And some who were left with questions. Plenty of questions left to answer.
How real do we consider anything from Summer League? Really, it is as real as we make it.
What it is really about is whether these players made the next steps — whether that is confirming star status, securing a place on the roster or earning another look with a training camp invite.
With Summer League nearing its conclusion, it is time to look at the players who helped themselves and those who hurt themselves during their week-plus in Las Vegas.