The Orlando Magic are under a lot of pressure this season.
Their president of basketball operations has already made it clear that this team will not be able to stay together as currently constructed after this season. The team is facing a major turning point one way or another.
That does not mean the team is not going to give this group a try this season. Everyone is feeling the pressure to deliver.
No player is feeling it more or could raise the team's ceiling quite like Jalen Suggs.
No player seems to have the potential to change the Magic's fortunes more than Suggs because of how vital he is to the defense.
He knows exactly what he needs to do to get there.
"For me, from him, the biggest thing is consistency and efficiency," Jalen Suggs said of conversations with new coach Sean Sweeney on Media Day. "Can you be consistent in the decisions you are making, in the spots you are trying to get to, the things you are trying to build and the habits you are trying to work toward daily? And then efficiency. Can you be locked in every single day and not get too far outside of ourselves and have these big spikes up or down?"
Suggs has often struggled with both. The complaint in his game has been that he plays too far over his skis and gets overzealous. The Magic do not always know what to expect from him.
That can work to his benefit on defense, where his special brand of chaos can be a game-changer for the team. But it can work against him elsewhere. It leads to his high-turnover games and does not allow him to fill the role of tone setter and steady hand at point guard.
The Magic will need both consistency and efficiency from Suggs to be the team they want to be. In training camp, at least, Suggs' heart is in the right place.
The quest for efficiency
By all accounts, the 2026 season was the second-best season of Jalen Suggs' career, behind the 2024 breakthrough season for everyone.
Suggs averaged 13.8 points per game and a career-high 5.5 assists per game. The team had a team-best +5.2 net rating with Suggs on the floor and a 108.4 defensive rating with Suggs on the floor, a mark that trailed only Jonathan Isaac on the team.
There was plenty of good for Suggs.
But efficiency still eluded him.
He shot only 33.9 percent from three, the second-best mark of his career. But among players who took at least 6.0 3-point attempts per game, Suggs ranked 10th-worst in 3-point field goal percentage.
He took more 3-pointers per game than Desmond Bane, a surprising result considering their percentages.
The only silver lining in those numbers is that he shot 39.3 percent on catch-and-shoot threes, according to data from Second Spectrum. There is at least a pathway to get him more quality shots.
His playoffs did not leave a pretty picture either.
Suggs scored only 11.1 points per game and shot 24.1 percent from three. While he has had his share of big games, stepping into a bigger role when Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner went out, he has struggled to deliver in the biggest moments.
Five years into his career, Suggs is still fighting for more efficient shooting. And he has been given more responsibility as the team's de facto point guard. Suggs could unlock a lot if he can put the shooting and guard abilities togehter.
"I've been working on my handle," Suggs said at Media Day. "I've been working on my decision-making, continuing to be more efficient in that, continuing to be more consistent in that. I'm working on my PG skills. I wouldn't say I need to be the 1 to be effective. I'm a basketball player. As long as I'm on the court, I'm going to find a way to help my teammates out and help us get a win."
So much of this goes hand in hand. A more efficient Suggs can take the Magic to another level.
The quest for consistency
What is frustrating, then, about Jalen Suggs is that nobody is quite sure what to expect from him night to night
He could deliver big games that shift the entire potential for the Magic, like his 28-point effort in the overtime win over the Washington Wizards late in the season or his 7-for-15 shooting performance from deep that nearly rescued the Orlando Magic in the regular season finale against the Boston Celtics.
Or he could deliver duds like his six-turnover efforts against the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks. Or the frustrating game he had in the loss to the Houston Rockets, where the Orlando Magic lost a big lead in the third quarter.
In Game 6, Suggs hit rock bottom with seven points, five turnovers, and 1-for-10 shooting and 1-for-6 shooting from three.
Orlando needed to rely on Suggs for consistency to get them through their injuries. The Magic often went how Suggs went in these critical, identity-defining games.
"Being more consistent will help me be more efficient, and I think chasing efficiency will help me be consistent," Suggs said during Media Day. "Those are the two things I'm trying to chase. The third thing, [Sean Sweeney] is trying to tell me to be my best self. I'm not trying to be nobody other than Jalen Suggs.
"You are really good when you are that. I think for me it was really dope to tap back into my peers and myself while also growing in a sense of becoming more disciplined, while factoring more consistency on and off the court and applying more efficiency. I'm excited to see how it all comes together."
The Magic know that Suggs is at his best when he is confident. The team does not want to bottle him up too much.
But they need to know what they can rely on him. Injuries have always followed him too. The Magic need to rely on him to stay on the court.
After coming back from a knee surgery last year, Suggs reported he had a healthy offseason. Nothing interrupted his offseason training. An illness held him out of some practices this week and will likely keep him from playing in Wednesday's preseason debut.
The Magic are still trying to figure out what they can count on from Suggs on a nightly basis.
That is what Suggs is aiming to prove this year. The Magic have seen what he can do at his best. The question is how often can they get that best.
That will determine much of the Magic's season.
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