It is not uncommon for every team in the league to be excited at this time of the year.
Nobody goes into the season believing the worst version of themselves will be the ones to win the day. Even the worst teams can be optimistic on media day. They at least need to put out a public front that everything is going to work.
When you meet a team that is actually excited and eager for the season, though, it is easy to tell. There is a light in everyone's eye and an eagerness to get things going. It is a vibe around the building. Everyone knows when something special is brewing.
But that expectation brings pressure with it. A pressure this Orlando Magic team has never felt before. The Magic enter the season with major expectations for the first time.
This is a season where the Magic need to turn the corner and be a factor in the East for a long time to come. It is a challenge a young team has to rise to meet, but feels ready to take on.
"Part of the youth is how do you handle the expectations and how do you handle the pats on the back," Weltman said during Media Day, mimicking brushing those pats off his shoulders to symbolize how he handles that external praise. "It's a young group, but they have to process all that stuff together. I think our coaches have done an amazing job of messaging that we haven't earned anything or done anything yet. I think our players know that everything they get has to be earned."
Turning the corner as a young team
The Orlando Magic are still an incredibly young team. But part of the optimism is the talent the team has at such a young age. There is still plenty of room for internal growth. They expect this group to be together for an extended run to chase, yes, a championship.
That is also why Jeff Weltman had this focus on turning the corner. He said it was sprinkled into every decision the team made this summer.
They wanted players who would add basketball IQ and help fill in the gaps and needs on the roster, but also support the team's long-term aims and identity. The mindset is completely different. It is no longer about giving players room to make mistakes. Everyone is judged by their ability to win.
This team expects to win big and is eager for the work to get there.
"I think the expectations should be higher than any of the other years," Franz Wagner said at Media Day. "I think we added Desmond Bane and some other really good players to the roster. I think talent-wise and mentality-wise, we should go into the year thinking like a contender and not counting ourselves short and believing in the chance that we've got."
The miracle of what the Magic did this offseason is that they appeared to add the shooting and offensive push they were desperate for without compromising their defense. The Magic believe they are due to have both an improved offense and a devastating defense.
It is on the team now for the next step. They must take advantage of the new roster moves and the talent they have on the roster.
The next steps
The Orlando Magic know what the team is capable of. The team could see and feel it last year, even through all the injuries. They have a deep belief in what they can do this season.
The Magic expect a lot from themselves because of the culture they have built and the players they have added. Those expectations are far more important to meet and far exceed what the outside world thinks.
It still all needs to come together on the court. The team will still need to prove the hype is real on the court.
"Just by going out and working every day and working to be the best," Paolo Banchero said at Media Day. "Expectations from the outside are one thing. But internally, you should expect a lot from yourself as a player and a team. The expectations you set for yourself are most important. I think you just accomplish that by going out and trying to work your hardest every day."
The Magic have entered a new phase with all the money the team is paying these players and the expectations they have set internally, as much as they have been imposed on them externally. They will be judged on whether they win. Their results in the spring will determine whether this is a successful season or not.
That is a major corner the team has yet to turn. Those pats on the back for a strong summer will quickly turn into jeers and questions if they fail to deliver and make that expected progress.
Nobody wants to think of how things can go wrong at this stage. Media day is only about the hope and optimism for the season ahead. It also sets the standard for what the team hopes ot accomplish in the upcoming season.
"There is nobody outside that locker room that should have higher expectations than us," coach Jamahl Mosley said. "There are going to be a lot of things written, there's going to be a lot of people saying things about what we could and should do, but our standard is high in what we know we're capable of doing. It starts with our everyday work."
The Magic need to turn the corner this season. They need to prove they are ready to win at a higher and higher level.
A new focus
It is not something that will be handed to them. It will take constant work and effort.
If the Orlando Magic learned anything from last year, it is that expectations are not a given. A lot of things happen in the course of a season. Managing those ups and downs is half the battle.
But Orlando this year has a different focus. They are aiming for something different. The team's mindset has changed. As much as the team needs to keep seeing players improve and grow, winning is taking a greater priority. Everyone senses the opportunity ahead.
"I think this year we're turning the corner on that and the guys that can help us win will play," Weltman said at Media Day. "I think this is as much a different perspective as we enter the season. And honestly, it's simplified for a lot of our guys. If you're ready to help us win, you're going to get on the court."
Everyone can feel that pressure as much as they feel the excitement for this season. Ultimately everyone on the roster will be judged on winning and what they do in the spring. That is really the new pressure and new standard this team meets.
That is the corner the team has turned.
What this season becomes about then is how the Magic rise to meet that challenge.