The Oklahoma City Thunder were getting a gut check of reality to life in the NBA. The Denver Nuggets had shocked everyone with their come-from-behind victories in Games 1 and 3 -- thanks to a pair of huge shots from Aaron Gordon -- to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Thunder were playing into the type of the young team taking their scars in the Playoffs. Even after a strong regular season, the Playoffs are different and test teams in a different way. Experience feels like a requirement to success.
Then the Thunder pulled out Game 4 in a tight affair thanks to some clutch play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They figured it out again in Game 5 to win and take a 3-2 series lead. After their shaky start in Game 7, the Thunder pulled away for a blowout win in Game 7 and a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
This regular season juggernaut -- the youngest team in the league -- had grown up. They had taken their playoff scars and scored the win over the veteran team.
That is something that all four teams in the NBA's conference finals can say. All are filled with players who have quickly gained playoff experience and have seen their windows to contention open up. At the conference finals stage, all four teams have a chance to win the title.
That does not seem so far away either. All four teams are relatively young and have pushed their chips in at the right moment to reach this moment. It is proof once again that the Orlando Magic's window is not so far away.
The parity that seems apparent throughout the league and the youth of the best players are more proof that the Magic cannot sit still. The conference finalists show that the Magic are not far away from being in that class of teams if their top players develop, and they fill in with the right role players who can adapt to any style as the game needs them.
There are no excuses to wait for the right time to strike. Orlando must support its stars and expect them to take the all-important next step.
When the stars are ready
Everything obviously starts with the stars. And the Orlando Magic's stars, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, are still extremely young at 22 and 23 years old.
The duo averaged more than 20 points per game, and both averaged nearly 25 points per game. Then they showed up in the Playoffs against the Boston Celtics.
Much of this offseason is being spent trying to figure out how to build the supporting cast to make their lives easier and share the creation burden they had to carry for this team.
Banchero and Wagner might be the best star duo in the Eastern Conference, with Jayson Tatum likely to miss most of the 2026 season. Orlando is in a very strong position.
What is working against them are questions about their development -- Banchero's efficiency and Wagner's shooting, especially. What is working against them is that they have not yet made it out of the first round in the Playoffs.
But both proved they can play in the Playoffs against a high-level team. Banchero averaged 29.4 points per game in the playoff series with the Boston Celtics. Wagner averaged 25.8 points per game and hit the big shots in the Magic's Game 3 win.
Orlando should be comfortable with what the team has at the top of the roster. The question is when will they be ready to compete at a higher level? When should they be expected to do so?
Both Banchero and Wagner are expected to be All-Star-level players next season and potentially All-NBA players next year, too. That comes with the expectations of deeper playoff runs. And their peers in the conference finals are not that much older.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP finalist at 26 in his seventh season. Anthony Edwards is 23 and in his fifth year. Tyrese Haliburton is 24 and in his fifth. Jalen Brunson is the only outlier at 28 in his seventh season.
Banchero just completed his third season at 22 years old. Wagner completed his fourth season at 23. They are not so far behind -- and Edwards made the conference finals last year, too.
The prime competing seasons for these players are coming sooner and sooner. That window for Banchero and Wagner is opening now or will open within the next two years. And that does not even account for any other teams that might sprout up in the coming years or already established teams like the Celtics.
Building the support
Nobody should be considering trading either Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner right now. They are showing signs of how good they can be. The Magic making the playoffs two straight years and seeing them get measured up in the Playoffs has shown how much Banchero and Wagner have grown.
In their first two postseasons, they have carried a heavy load and the question has always been what else were they getting?
Jalen Suggs averaged 14.7 points per game in the Playoff series last year -- and also had a frustrating 2-for-16 showing in Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Moe Wagner struggled in the Playoffs last year too with just 6.3 points per game.
In the Playoffs this year, Wendell Carter was the only other Magic player to hit 10 points per game, and while his scoring was greater than it was during the regular season, his offense still leaves a lot to be desired and left a lot to be desired even in that playoff series.
The Magic know that their ticket to the next round comes with providing a supporting cast that can build an offense that emphasizes Banchero and Wagner's skills and makes things easier for them.
That is what the conference finalists have done. They have made aggressive moves to confirm their identities and create strong supporting casts.
The Minnesota Timberwolves famously went all-in on their defense in acquiring Rudy Gobert in a much-lampooned trade. The Wolves have made the conference finals twice after that move and parlayed Karl-Anthony Towns into a better-fitting power forward in Julius Randle and a good role player in Donte DiVincenzo.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have built carefully through the draft. But they pushed chips in last summer, sacrificing a young player whose fit was uncertain in Josh Giddey to acquire Alex Caruso. And while rebounding remains an issue for the Thunder, they aggressively attacked their needs in signing Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Indiana Pacers kick-started this era with the Domantas Sabonis-for-Tyrese Haliburton swap. But they have built a supporting case of playmakers and creators like Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith. They added Pascal Siakam at last year's deadline to give them more toughness, defense and isolation scoring.
The New York Knicks signed Jalen Brunson in free agency and found players who embrace their style of grittiness. They took their chance with big trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Some of this is the teams understanding when the right time was to strike and improve their overall talent. Some of this is the teams fully embracing their identity and finding players who not only supplement that identity but provide another skill that boosts them.
This is the stage the Magic are at. And finding the right role players to elevate the Magic into this conversation.
It is clear the Magic are not far. And the window is opening where they must make their move into conference finals contention.