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The top 10 games of the Orlando Magic’s 2023 season

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Paolo Banchero has turned in a stellar rookie year. But the Orlando Magic need him to break through a rookie wall to make a postseason push. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Paolo Banchero has turned in a stellar rookie year. But the Orlando Magic need him to break through a rookie wall to make a postseason push. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets
Jalen Suggs returned to the Orlando Magic’s lineup and made an impact in his return. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /

Top 10 games of the Orlando Magic’s 2023 season

10. Do It By Committee — vs. Brooklyn Nets (March 26) & vs. Detroit Pistons (April 2)

38. Final. 106. 147. 119

38. Final. 102. 64. 128

Throughout the entire year, coach Jamahl Mosley preached his team would play by committee. They would share the ball and move the ball. It was never going to be about one person.

Sure, Paolo Banchero was scoring a lot of points. But he wanted an offense that preached togetherness and kept things moving whether that is player movement or ball movement.

What was impressive about how the season progressed is how the team improved its offense and got better. The team got more confident and capable.

This was a young team that made mistakes. They lost games they should not have. They struggled at times to find that consistency. But they started to put it all together late in the season.

Two games stood out at the end of the year and deserve to be grouped together.

The Orlando Magic started their final season kick with a 119-106 blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets. They counteracted a 44-point game from Mikal Bridges with 30 assists on 45 field goals. Cole Anthony led the team in scoring 21 points, but the team had eight players in double figures.

This game was truly by committee.

The fact they did it again in a few weeks with a 30-assist performance in a blowout win over the Detroit Pistons only cemented the gains they made. They again put eight players in double figures — led by Jalen Suggs’ 18 points off the bench.

In front of an odd but earned Sunday sellout crowd against the worst team in the league, the Magic got to celebrate this team in a major way. Everyone got to eat — even Michael Carter-Williams, making his season debut after signing on late in the season.

This was the ideal.

No team is going to win at the highest levels with such balanced scoring. But the Magic said they wanted to do things by committee. They wanted everyone to contribute and add something. And this is what Orlando got in these two games to cap off their season.