The Orlando Magic were back to scrimmaging during Wednesday's practice of training camp.
This was their time. Coach Jamahl Mosley quieted down and let the team figure things out as they played against each other.
On the sidelines coaching the respective squads were Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner, both still working through individual workouts and non-contact drills as they return from knee injuries lingering from last season.
It was symbolic of the leap the Magic hope to make this season.
Orlando has been a team all about collective ownership and empowering players to make decisions. Mosley's philosophy has always been to trust and work with players to give them the power to problem-solve on the court.
That is a philosophy that has taken root in his four years with the team. Heading into year five with all the expectations and growth expected this season, the Magic are expecting their players to lead.
It has been a different kind of training camp.
"I think the big word that we have to use for that is just ownership," Mosley said after practice on Wednesday. "I think they are all taking ownership of where we are at right now. What's expected of them, the team, the practices every single day. Ownership is the big word."
The team has slowly earned more and more say and control over the process. They have been a big part of this journey from a 25-win team into a team expected to make the second round.
But this year has brought an extra layer of expectations and another layer of experience. The Magic have always been serious workers. But this camp has a different vibe to it.
Another year wiser
The easiest explanation is that the team is simply a year older and a year wiser. They took a massive playoff scar last year in failing to meet their preseason expectations and falling in the Playoffs. It was a moment that forced the franchise to look at itself and consider how it would go about achieving its goals.
The team made some major changes with the addition of Desmond Bane. But this is still mostly the same team that has been climbing the ranks year after year. This is still mostly the same team that has been building this program from the very start.
It is still a young group gaining playoff experience. But the group has certainly taken everything it has learned year over year and brought it into this training camp.
"It has to do with what we did in the summer," Franz Wagner said after practice on Wednesday. "It also has to do with guys being a year older and having another year together, where maybe we got out of the season a little frustrated and disappointed. We know how important every day is."
The Magic have had this kind of ownership and togetherness in previous years. That the team plays so hard speaks to the journey to get to this point. Nobody takes this journey for granted. They know what it is like to be at the bottom and to rise to the top.
The team also knows that there are major expectations for this group. No matter how much fans and pundits might expect from this team, the Magic have assured everyone that their internal expectations are much higher.
That has led to a seemingly more focused approach to the season. This is still a young team and Mosley will always implore his team to play with joy. But they are much more serious about what they want to accomplish.
"Every year we try to turn up the intensity and turn up the focus," Anthony Black said after practice on Wednesday. "Everyone is getting older, more calmed down and focused. I guess there is a sense of being real locked in, coming together and reach a goal."
The seriousness may not be drastically different. But there is another layer of experience and maturity that been brought to camp this time around.
Refreshed individual work
This shift is not just in the vibes during camp and the focus and specificity of their goals. This is a young team, but it is a more veteran team. The players on the roster have also changed how they prepare for the season and have become more efficient when they come to training camp.
Because so much of this roster is the same -- including much of the coaching staff -- players know what is expected of them and how to prepare for the season.
Beyond even that familiarity, having been through several seasons, players throughout the roster come to camp knowing their bodies and knowing what they need to do to prepare for the regular season. They can spend less time in camp working on themselves and more time integrating into the team, peaking at the exact time they need and saving their legs where it makes sense.
"You just take it one game at a time," Paolo Banchero said after practice Monday. "Just building up each and every game and getting more confidence in your movements and with the team in general."
Franz Wagner said he has spent more time getitng to know his new teammates and learning from them where they like the ball and how they can evolve the offense. Wagner came to camp in shape thanks to his EuroBasket exploits (the Magic are managing his playing time in the preseason and ramping him up for the regular season).
Wagner is less focused on himself and his game and more focused on how he can use those skills to help the team.
Anthony Black said he came to camp having a better understanding what the coaching staff and team are looking for. That helped him in his preseason preparations.
The trick though is still bring this all together. And with so many players now understanding the drill and determined to make more of this season,
"It's easy for coaches to say things and put things on boards, watching it on film, it becomes real when these guys can repeat it back to you and repeat the message of what they've called themselves to do," Mosley said after practice Wednesday.
The Magic are repeating it back more and more, it seems, as they try to push this team further in the spring.