The Orlando Magic just have bad luck when it comes to staying healthy enough to gain chemistry with its three stars and have been going through a myriad of injuries during the 2025 NBA season.
It seems to just keep getting worse for a young Magic squad that boasted one of the better records in the NBA after the first five games of the year. Now, the team has lost its best perimeter defender, the guy who sets the defensive tone for the entire squad. It was reported earlier by ESPN that Jalen Suggs will undergo knee surgery to remove a cartilage fragment.
This news sinks the postseason hopes for Magic fans across the globe.
It also puts in perspective just how important Jalen Suggs is to this team and why the Magic signed him to a 5-year, $150 million deal in 2024. The franchise knew that he had developed into a menace on the defensive side of the ball and is one of those guys who can alter the belief in a team. Now that Suggs is done for the year, the team will likely look for its main stars to play past their potential to advance the team to new heights. That will be way too much to ask from Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Some fans in Central Florida may have questioned if Suggs deserved a massive contract like this but are now seeing why the front office decided to give him his payday. Now, they understand why he is worth the money after learning he will need to have season-ending knee surgery.
The rest of the season will be tough for the Magic
This latest injury, combined with the season-ending injury to Moe Wagner, has the Magic looking forward to 2026. Wagner and Suggs were the energy guys for both elements of the team. Wagner provided the energy for the bench, while Suggs provided the energy for the starters. Now, the Magic are without the players who can motivate them better than anyone on the team. This is devastating news to a franchise that stayed put at the trade deadline instead of making a move to place more talent around Banchero and Wagner.
This injury highlights coach Mosley's questionable decision to start Suggs after he experienced back spasms against the Toronto Raptors on January 3. We understand that he is a starter, but he may have needed to come off of the bench and play against the second unit until he got his legs back under him. But the decisions were made, and ultimately, the Magic's season is over.
At this point, it seems to make more sense to rest Banchero and Wagner, tank the final 20 games, and try to draft Duke's Cooper Flagg to help out with the offensive woes.
This promising year for the Magic has developed into another year to build the team because of the number of injuries. If the franchise wants to look at the bright side, they can continue building around their stars while attempting to make a splash in free agency this offseason.
The Jalen Suggs injury forces the franchise to look forward to the future and think about someone they can bring in who can shoot threes and fit the Magic's defensive identity.