The 35th season of Orlando Magic basketball is coming. The team expressed its excitement this week during media day. This is the first time that this young roster has been fully healthy to start the season.
The Magic played at a playoff-caliber level for most of last season. But the unfortunate 5-20 start to the year put them in a hole few teams could climb out of. Injuries took their toll as key contributors missed significant time. It was out of the team’s control.
Orlando can now turn the page and look to hit the ground running. The team is deep and has the most continuity out of any NBA team.
Still, the team is flying under the radar and the NBA does not have much confidence in this young group as the Magic currently only have five nationally televised game this year — four on NBATV. The only game they will play on traditional national TV is their home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 12 on TNT.
The Orlando Magic are not among the featured teams on the NBA’s schedule. They will make just one national TV appearance this season. Perhaps the NBA is missing out.
Oklahoma City has a young roster similar to Orlando with blossoming talent filling the depth chart. This game will be a heavyweight matchup between the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft with Paolo Banchero going up against Chet Holmgren (at last).
The Magic have confidence they can make their presence felt in the Eastern Conference and quiet a lot of doubters. There will be plenty of key matchups throughout the year against contenders in which the Magic will look to prove they belong among the league elite.
Paolo Banchero has one of the highest ceilings of any NBA player and Magic fans have to anticipate a year two leap. If other young players like Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Wendell Carter or Cole Anthony all improve, this will be a tantalizing season.
The NBA may be forced to upgrade some of Orlando’s games so that NBA fans throughout the world can see what’s brewing in the City Beautiful.
There are not many believers in the Magic outside of Central Florida, but if you have been following this rebuild, you know that the team is in a great position.
5 Orlando Magic games that should have been on national TV
Nov. 4: vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic have a tenured relationship that has historically favored the purple and gold. The Lakers have been the big brother to the Magic, beating them in the NBA Finals and prying away All-Star centers from Orlando.
There is a buzz surrounding the Lakers as they had a great offseason regrouping to aid LeBron James in his quest for a fifth title to add to his legacy.
James’ ability to stay healthy and play a large majority of games consistently is a testament to how he has taken care of his body.
Paolo Banchero has regularly been compared to LeBron since he was drafted last year. They have a similar body type and Banchero clearly has more muscle than James did when he entered the league.
That is a testament to how NBA-ready Banchero’s body was at 19 years old and how his build will continue to be an advantage throughout his potentially illustrious career.
James and Bancher averaged an almost identical stat line in both of their rookie seasons shown below:
- LeBron James: 20.9 points per game, 42% from the field, 29% from three, 75% from the line
- Paolo Banchero: 20.0 Points per game, 43% from the field, 30% from three, 74% from the line
If Banchero can take steps to stardom like James, the sky truly is the limit.
The best part about this matchup is that the two will likely guard each other. It will be a test for Banchero not only to defend James but lead his team to victory as a primary scorer on offense.
That is the primary attraction of this matchup — one that is good enough to get the Oct. 30 matchup in Los Angeles on NBATV. The other game at Amway Center though is on a Saturday night. Hardly primetime, especially in the fall. And the league opted to put the Chicago Bulls’ 9 p.m. matchup with the Denver Nuggets on its NBATV time slot.
With nobody knowing how much longer James has left in his career, the league seemingly would be smart to feature James against one of his potential heir apparent and rising stars. This was certainly a missed opportunity to feature the one of the league’s all-time greats against one of its future stars.
At least, the duo get one showcase on NBATV this season.
Both teams have high aspirations this season and a high-scoring affair between James and Banchero is going to be a sight to see.
5 Orlando Magic games that should have been on national TV
Jan. 12: at Miami Heat
The in-state rivalry always has further implications than just a win or a loss to the record. There is meaning behind being the best team in Florida, and the Miami Heat have typically won that battle in the 35 seasons since the Orlando Magic’s inception.
Miami has 76 wins over Orlando while Orlando has 58 wins. Only 18 wins separate the two teams, which some might find surprising based on Miami’s three championship teams Orlando’s none.
In the last four seasons, the two teams have played 15 times and the Magic have only managed to win four of those games. One per season.
Beating the Heat is a big deal for the Magic. Certainly, since Dwight Howard’s departure, it has been a measuring stick for a young and hungry Orlando team.
Magic players have already expressed their anticipation for things to come at media day earlier this week. They know how much it would mean to the team, organization and fan base to grow internally into a competitive roster.
One of the first steps in getting there is handling games within the division.
If the Magic want to not only compete in their own division but in the Eastern Conference, winning games against the Heat definitely helps.
There are only 16 divisional games each season, and last year the Southeast Division had fairly even splits. The Heat clinched the division with a 10-6 record against division foes. The Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards were 8-8 and the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets were 7-9.
Orlando was only a few games back. And now with Washington in full rebuild mode, that division record seems like a main focus for improvement.
Every game against the Heat will matter especially if the Magic want to do more than just reach the Play-In. After all, the Heat won the Southeast Division last year as the 7-seed entering the tournament.
Games between Orlando and Miami have been surprisingly competitive despite the lopsided results in recent years. If this were a game the NBA wanted to feature, the league has the perfect opportunity to do it when Orlando travels to Miami on Jan. 12.
On that day, ESPN will air the battle between Amen and Ausar Thompson when the Houston Rockets play the Detroit Pistons and the battle between Brandon Miller and Victor Wembanyama as the Charlotte Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs.
Paolo Banchero did not get the courtesy of getting a quality rookie matchup on national TV in his first season — Chet Holmgren’s injury had TNT pulling a November matchup between the top two picks early in the season.
The battle of the twin rookie prospects and the top two picks is plenty to entice the ESPN executives. But the game between the Magic and the Heat at this juncture in the season is likely to be more important and between better teams.
If the Magic are in the playoff conversation in January, fans will know how important this game is for their aspirations this year. Even splitting the series with Miami could have major implications in March and April when the Magic are fighting to extend their season.
This rivalry will continue to be a battle as long as Jimmy Butler is leading Miami. But the Magic are ready to take on the challenge.
5 Orlando Magic games that should have been on national TV
Dec. 31: at Phoenix Suns
After the Orlando Magic play the Los Angeles Lakers, they will play 23 games before they face the Phoenix Suns on New Year’s Eve as part of their second West Coast road trip. The stint in between these two games will have significant implications that can make or break their season.
Out of those 23 games, 21 of them will be against Eastern Conference rivals and six of those games are amongst teams in the division.
By the time Orlando faces Phoenix, the NBA season will be more than a quarter complete. The Magic will want to end 2023 on a good note.
Phoenix retooled its roster within the last six months and now boast three All-Stars looking to lead their team to its first championship. The Suns only have one player on the team remaining from when they went to the NBA Finals in 2021.
Many NBA insiders in recent years envisioned the Magic attempting to build a similar roster to the Suns from their Finals run. They built a young team through the draft and were competing at a contending level. The front office in Phoenix felt that the team’s ceiling was limited with its youthful roster and packaged most of their promising talent for win-now stars.
Orlando has been stockpiling young talent and draft assets since the 2021 NBA trade deadline and many fans wonder if the Magic will also make an all-in move in the coming months.
The main reason that this matchup is a candidate for national television is because Paolo Banchero has another opportunity to showcase his elite talent against one of the players he is often compare dto.
Paolo Banchero is certainly trying to mimic some of Kevin Durant’s game as the two worked out together at least once this offseason. Durant seems to have an appreciation for Banchero’s game. Durant signed a jersey for Paolo after their first matchup in November of last year.
Durant poured 45 points on Banchero early in his rookie season so Banchero is going to be circling this one on the calendar as another chance to prove himself.
Unlike the matchup with the Lakers, this game against the Suns is buried on the national television schedule. The NBA does not even have an NBATV game scheduled for New Year’s Eve, nor does it have one when the Suns visit Amway Center on Jan. 28 (a Sunday during the NFL Playoffs, no less).
5 Orlando Magic games that should have been on national TV
Feb. 8: vs. San Antonio Spurs
The battle of the first selection in the last two NBA drafts seems like a no-brainer for national TV (the NBA is featuring the top four of the top five picks in a single night, this seems like a good choice too).
Victor Wembanyama will be traveling to Florida to take on the Orlando Magic only a week after the same matchup happens in San Antonio. San Antonio will be looking to prove Wembanyama and company are further along in their rebuild than Orlando. Or at least the Spurs have the more coveted foundational piece.
The hype around Wembanyama is very real with the Spurs receiving 19 national TV games (including NBATV). The league wants to feature Wembanyama a ton this season.
It seems nearly impossible for Paolo Banchero not to hear the Wembanyama noise so far since his arrival into the league. He may look to prove a point.
Banchero does not shy away from competition and this attribute is one of the reasons Magic fans should be excited for the future.
He wants to take the last shot or have the ball in his hands. He wants to be the best player on the court and will do everything in his power to show that he is the better player than Wembanyama.
The Magic’s home game against the Spurs takes place on a Thursday against TNT’s early broadcast of the Dallas Mavericks taking on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Their matchup in San Antonio takes place against the same night as a midweek ABC game between the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets. The Magic are not quite ready for an ABC game nod.
There is a lot to like about the Magic as a young team. But there is also plenty to like about what the Spurs are building around Wembanyama.
Wembanyama is surrounded by young, athletic wings in Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Malaki Branham who can run the floor, shoot and defend at a high level. Jeremy Sochan is another long, athletic player who will continue to develop alongside Wemby building a formidable frontcourt duo.
Both teams will be fun to watch this season. They are fast-paced teams who are trying to find an identity to build on. What each team lacks in experience and discipline they will balance the scale with effort.
The Spurs match up well with the Magic and these two young teams could potentially face each other in the NBA Finals in years to come. At least this is the hope from both organizations.
5 Orlando Magic games that should have been on national TV
April 12: at Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers roster is up in the air. James Harden requested a trade this offseason but it has been reported that he is currently at training camp.
Last season, Joel Embiid was finally crowned the NBA’s MVP, but he could not carry his team past the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The team has consistently made the playoffs but has yet to get over the hump of making their first NBA Finals in the Embiid era. Selecting this game for national television could pay off as this is the second to last game of the season.
The 76ers are likely to make the playoffs again and still have championship aspirations, but they are clearly falling behind if Harden is indeed on his way out.
Orlando also will hopefully be fighting for its playoff life, but this game goes beyond playoff implications.
This is the Markelle Fultz game.
Fultz has had quite the journey since he was traded from Philadelphia, which has unbelievably been four seasons ago.
After his initial season in pinstripes, Fultz has had difficulty staying on the court. From torn ACLs to broken toes, luck has not been in his favor.
This is Fultz’s first offseason where he was fully healthy and preparing for training camp at 100 percent. What a sigh of relief it must be for him.
He had glimpses of why he was the first overall selection in 2017 throughout last year, and the Magic organization believes this is not even the tip of the iceberg.
In 60 games last year, Fultz had career highs in points, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, field goal percentage and three-point percentage.
He is only 25 years old and has played 191 games through six seasons. He has not even played two and a half seasons yet of total games. The tip of the iceberg is right.
Fultz is ready to attack training camp and prepare for a great start to the season.
He has been adamant about the potential of this young team and how they can make some noise in the Eastern Conference. Fultz has the skill set and mental fortitude to steer this young team in the right direction.
This game against the 76ers will be nostalgic for Fultz and a full-circle moment of the hurdles he has faced in his short career.
In a televised game, the Magic will want to exhibit how far Fultz has come since he was nationally recognized as a “bust” as he fought through injuries early in his career.
Orlando has been a perfect place for him to regather himself and focus on the game of basketball and be partially exempt from the media relative to his time in Philadelphia.
Surprisingly, Fultz has played only two games in Philadelphia since his trade — both coming in back-to-back games last year in January and February. This is at least a curious matchup considering how high-profile Fultz’s tenure with Philadelphia ended up being.
Unfortunately the Magic’s lone scheduled trip to Philadelphia comes on the same day the Los Angeles Lakers vsiit the Memphis Grizzlies for an NBATV game. It is hard to argue against that.
If there is a good bet for the Magic to get a national TV game out of this matchup, it would be Dec. 27 when the two face off at the Amway Center. NBATV is opting to air the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards instead.
The Magic are ready to show every team in the NBA that they have arrived and their time is now. You can feel the anticipation from fans, reporters, and the entire organization that winning is coming.
Unfortunately, the NBA’s broadcast partners are a bit slow on the take to catch on.