During the 2024 season, the Orlando Magic got their first taste of success.
They went through the process of making the Playoffs and the joy of winning for the first time as a group. Everything was building to that point over the years of a rebuild. There were no expectations at this stage. Simply being there was the goal.
But everything changes after that. Now the question becomes: How do you copy and repeat that success? How do you grow from that success?
The Magic entered the 2025 season with bigger ambitions. They wanted to make a push to get out of the first round. Suddenly, just being there was not enough.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman has always valued his team's continuity. With loads of cap room, the Magic added only three new players this offseason, opting to keep building with the young roster that made that breakthrough. Weltman constantly preached a patient approach.
After a 41-41 season that saw the team fall to the 7-seed and lose in five games to the Boston Celtics in the first round, that approach seems to be pushed aside.
Weltman put it in no uncertain terms as the team gathered for the final time this season: The Magic are here to win. And the franchise has entered the next phase of its development project.
"We've talked a lot over the years about following our north star and running two races at the same time and the trickiness of navigating all of that," Weltman said at the team's exit interviews Thursday. "I think what we learned about our team this year is that it's time to enter the next stage of our development. . . . This year, I felt like we were more battle-tested than we had been. We acquitted ourselves well. I think we're in a place now where the focus will shift to looking at the world more through a win-now lens."
The way the team fell short made it clear to them that improvements must be made. For Orlando to get where it wants to go, it cannot sit still.
Betting on internal improvement in 2025
The Orlando Magic bet on its internal improvement throughout the last few years, letting their young talent grow organically. They made moves seemingly geared toward letting those players make mistakes and grow.
This is the stage teams want to get to. They want to collect enough talent to climb the ranks and have the seedlings of a winning team.
Perhaps they would have accomplished their goals and still be playing today if they had not suffered a litany of injuries. Throughout exit interviews, the team expressed its pride in how the team stuck together and made something of this season.
Jeff Weltman said that perhaps if the team were healthy or had played better during its disastrous 1-6 homestand, it would have been in line with what it did during the 2024 season. The Magic do not see themselves as far off from where they wanted to be.
But it was also a signal of how far the team still has to go. Everyone was quick to note that they are not satisfied with simply getting through adversity and being resilient. They see the end goal too.
They want to win. Nobody is satisfied with where this season ended.
"I do believe it is a win-now scenario for these guys and understand exactly what we need to do," coach Jamahl Mosley said during exit interviews. "We are not chasing mediocre. There is something bigger. That's why I say it was great to play against the Boston Celtics, who just won a championship, so you can feel and understand what that's like in real time so you can prepare your mind and your body to play on that level."
The Magic indeed stood tall against the Celtics in a tough five-game series. Their defense shocked the NBA world with its ability to hold down the Celtics and their prolific three-point shooting.
But nobody was taking any moral victory at pushing the Celtics and falling short in five games. The Magic have those big ambitions.
And their weaknesses in that series were apparent.
Addressing weaknesses for 2026
Jeff Weltman said the team clearly needs to improve its offense and shoot better.
Orlando must address those needs to improve. That is what the team will be seeking this offseason. The Magic know that to take the next step and avoid the mediocrity treadmill, they must take that next step.
Weltman said the season showed who they are and where they are. They fought hard to fall a notch below where they were last year. The team earned some battle scars for that effort. The team learned that winning is not guaranteed. That is important for a young team.
In the end, the Magic are still a young team anchored by two young stars. They are hungry to win and are ready to win now.
They have gotten a taste of the postseason two straight years. They are ready for more.
"It definitely excites me to hear that we're trying to win now," Banchero said at exit interviews Thursday. "I think that's always been the goal. To hear him say that is good. Looking forward to whatever happens. At the end of the day, we all want to win. Whatever is being done to contribute to winning more games and winning in the postseason, I'm all for it."
Wagner called it a natural progression for the group. The team has made the playoffs in consecutive seasons, they have an internal expectation to win. Now it is about putting into action to gain the consistency to prioritize short-term winning.
The Magic know what they are capable of.
Moving to one track
The Orlando Magic are still on two tracks.
The Magic still want to develop their young players. They are not about to abandon trying to put their best players in positions to succeed or betting on their continued improvement at 22 and 23 years old.
But, for the first time, there seems to be some urgency to have the results match the process. They seem to believe now is the time to strike and add the right players around their star players. They will be measured not by what they learn and how they grow, but by their results.
The Magic sense how special their stars can be, how good they can be and the opportunity ahead.
This is indeed a new phase. Orlando has proven itself a consistent playoff performer. The team knows it has room to keep growing internally. But the Magic can also clearly see the needs it must fill this offseason.
In that way, it is time for the team to evolve and grow. The Magic are ready to take their next steps.
"You have to go through it," Mosley said at exit interviews. "You have to go through that to understand exactly what you are capable of doing. You were able to play against the defending champions. Now you saw what they were capable of doing, how you played, what you were able to do, the margin for error. Now you know what it takes."
As their season concludes, the Magic are proud of how far they have come. The next question is how far can they still go?
It is clear what those goals are now. It is clear this team can do more and do it more quickly. It is time to put the focus on winning and less on the future.
Weltman and the Magic plan to act accordingly.