3 Of the biggest surprises of the Orlando Magic’s 2024-25 season so far

The NBA season may still be rather young, but it has already been full of surprises. Especially the Eastern Conference standings are not what most fans expected to see. Before the start of the season, few people would have predicted that the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and Brooklyn Nets would all have better records than the Philadelphia 76ers with their All-Star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. 

The Orlando Magic, on the other hand, are pretty much where they were projected to compete this season: at the top of the Eastern Conference. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics have better records than the Magic in the Eastern Conference at this point of the season. 

Nevertheless, the Magic have had to deal with some surprises this season. 

Surprise #3: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s struggles from three

One thing the Magic desperately needed to add to their roster was 3-point shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was supposed to be the answer to that problem. He had been an excellent 3-point shooter for several years and also fits the Magic’s defensive identity. 

Unfortunately, Caldwell-Pope did not look like himself from behind the arc. So far, he is only shooting 22.4 percent from three for the season, and the Magic are still a terrible 3-point shooting team. They take the tenth most 3-point attempts in the league but only convert 31 percent of them, which is the worst 3-point percentage of any team in the league. 

Caldwell-Pope’s struggles from three were definitely an unpleasant surprise for the Magic, but they have still found ways to win games, and the veteran might have just found his rhythm. In the Magic’s most recent win over the Chicago Bulls, he made six of his ten 3-point attempts and looked more like the player the Magic needed. 

Surprise #2: Cole Anthony’s struggles

Last season, the Magic were able to strongly rely on Cole Anthony and the scoring he could provide in the second unit. This season has been quite different. Anthony struggled to score to start the season—an unpleasant surprise for a Magic team that needs all the offense it can get—and fell out of the rotation. 

In his stead, youngster Anthony Black has stepped up, but the Magic will still need Cole Anthony to find his way back to the scorer and playmaker he was for them until recently. He showed that he still had it in him when the Magic beat the Hornets. 

Pushed into a bigger role once again, Anthony put up 16 points on efficient shooting, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27 minutes of playing time. Granted, the Hornets are not the best competition out there, but it was nice to see Anthony look like himself again. Hopefully, this means that he has another surprise up his sleeve and will turn his worst statistical season to date into another success. 

Surprise #1: How the Magic recovered from losing Paolo Banchero 

Losing your star player is never easy but it is especially difficult for a young team that has no other established All-Star on the roster. So, it was no surprise when the Magic lost the first four games. They had to figure out how to play without Banchero and faced strong teams. 

Against weaker opponents, the Magic figured things out and haven’t slowed down since. Since the team’s first win without Banchero, the Magic have only lost one game against the LA Clippers. Other than that, they have won ten games, led by Franz Wagner who took his game to another level. 

It currently looks like Wagner already secured his ticket to the All-Star game, and the Magic are positioned well for the playoff race. While it was only a matter of time until the Magic figured things out without Banchero, the level at which they did it was somewhat surprising. 

After all, the Magic have a winning record without Banchero and beat some other potential playoff teams, like the Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angeles Lakers.