The buzz within the Orlando Magic's practice court has not reached a fever pitch like this in a while. It is easy to sense the opportunity ahead of the Magic.
It is not merely a weakened Eastern Conference that is seeing several key players on contending teams out for likely the entire upcoming season. The Magic were on a path to contention with two star players now locked up for the long term anyway.
Orlando aggressive attacked this offseason and added to the roster, including the addition of Tyus Jones to help man the point guard position off the bench.
The Magic are entering this offseason with bigger ambitions. And they are not hiding from those ambitions. They know exactly what their goal is for this season and moving forward.
Even those on the outside feel the momentum building behind the Magic. They want in on this rocket ship.
"I think the talent is through the roof," Jones said when he met with the media Monday. "This team has everything you need to win a championship, honestly. I think it's going to make my job easy. I'm not going to overcomplicate it. Obviously, Everyone knows what P[aolo Banchero] can do. Everyone knows Franz [Wagner] is continuing to get better each and every year. He took a huge step forward last year. And Des[mond Bane] bringing transition scoring, 3-point scoring, but playmaking as well. All the pieces are going to flow together. I'm excited to see it all come together."
Jones is not the first person this offseason to talk about a championship so openly.
During exit interviews both Jamahl Mosley and Jeff Weltman acknowledged merely making the Playoffs is not the goal. Winning a first-round series is not the goal. Winning a championship is the ultimate goal.
The Magic are not hiding from these lofty ambitions anymore.
The Magic put together a better team
The Orlando Magic worked this offseason to try to inch the team to that goal. Considering how much chaos the Eastern Conference has been left in, Orlando should feel like it has a good chance to accomplish that goal.
Still, the Magic needed to do their work.
The acquisition of Desmond Bane was almost universally praised despite the heavy cost on the Magic's draft capital. It was a major move to add offense and shooting to a team desperate for both without sacrificing their defense.
That goes with internal development for key players like Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black, among plenty others. The Magic should be a better team.
Acquiring Tyus Jones, a steady point guard who can handle the ball, shoot and generally stay out of the way otherwise, will be a boost for the team too.
And the group they have put together is something everyone is excited about.
"For me, personally, since I have been here, I think this roster has a chance to do some special things," president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said. "Moreso than any other that we have had since I have been here. It looks good on paper. It's the job of our players and our coaches and all of our staff to bring everything we have to bear to get this team as far along as we can.
"The nice thing about the team that I get excited about is it is still very young. There is still a lot of growth baked in. I look forward to the next few years unfolding, but obviously starting right now."
The Magic have committed financially to building a winning team. They will be flirting with the aprons and all of its restrictions for the next several years. They would blow through this year's salary cap with how much they are paying their top four players in 2027 alone.
That means the team has no choice but to compete for a championship. They must take on those expectations head-on.
They would not commit this heavily if they did not believe in what this team can do.
Magic will face big expectations
The rest of the world is catching up to those expectations now.
Nobody on the team is hiding from where this team wants to be. For the first time in a long time, it feels possible for the Orlando Magic to do crazy things.
For the first time in a long time, the Magic face as many external expectations as they face internal expectations.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Magic as the third favorite to win the Eastern Conference and sixth favorite to win the NBA title. DraftKings' early futures lines have the Magic winning over/under 51.5 wins.
This is not merely a bluster anymore. The outside world looks at the Magic and sees the potential for this team.
Orlando is not going to pay much attention to that. But it gives credence to the team's internal beliefs. It suggests the Magic are not talking about their ambitions anymore. They are talking about what they can achieve.
A championship is not a dream anymore. But there is still a lot of work to get there.
"I think they've continued to get better year in and year out," Tyus Jones said Monday. "They've done it organically, not skipped steps, not shied away from the process. I think we've got all the pieces that are needed to compete for a championship. It is just about coming together and keeping that big goal in mind, continuing to get better throughout the whole season, and not get bored with the process and not get bored with success."
Things have indeed changed for the Magic. Everyone is acknowledging it.
The team has invited pressure and invited scrutiny. The rest of the league is watching the Magic now too having established their identity on defense and their toughness in two Playoff series.
Orlando has put the money up to maintain a strong roster. The team is ambitious about what it can achieve.
That part is not quiet anymore. Championship is not just a goal anymore. It is the expectation.