The Orlando Magic had a superpower during the 2024 season breakthrough into the Playoffs.
Teams feared what would come when the Magic began breaking their lineup. The Magic's bench was a dominant force that won the team many games on the way to a 47-win season and a surprise 5-seed.
Sure, Paolo Banchero requires everyone's attention just as much as Franz Wagner would. The stars and starters still matter.
But much of the strength of the belief that Wagner is better than Banchero, based on plus-minus or advanced stats, came from Wagner anchoring one of the best bench lineups in the league.
That was on track to be the case throughout the 2025 season, too. Before the injuries struck, that is. The injuries that gutted the Magic's depth to fill in the starting lineup and took away a potential Sixth Man of the Year winner in Moe Wagner. It decreased the scoring output and the Magic's ability to make up deficits.
One of the reasons the Magic fell to 41-41 last year was quite simply how much production the team lost from the bench.
Orlando has pushed some chips into the center of the table now.
The team gave up some depth in trading reliable bench scorer Cole Anthony as part of the package to acquire Desmond Bane. The team is relying on a lot of young players like Anthony Black and perhaps Tristan da Silva to provide bench scoring and improve the offense.
But one thing last year's Playoffs showed is that depth -- and investing in depth -- is vital to a team's success. The Indiana Pacers succeeded largely because they had so many players they could rely on to contribute and keep offensive pressure on teams. Tom Thibodeau essentially lost his job because the New York Knicks never trusted or developed their depth, as his team ran out of steam in the conference finals.
Orlando is as top-heavy offensively as it has been, even if the team is now spreading out scoring among four players. But if the Magic want to compete for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, they are going to need to be able to rely on their bench to get there.
Magic must re-establish bench scoring
It was truly one of the team's superpowers that it could lean on its depth to get it through the rough stretches throughout the 2024 season. Orlando had one of the best bench lineups in the league and felt comfortable going 10 deep even as teams tightened their rotation.
In the 2024 season, the Magic ranked fourth in the league with 41.5 points per game off the bench. It was indeed one of their superpowers in their breakout season.
That seemed to be the direction the team was headed in the 2025 season. Before Moe Wagner's injury in late December, the Magic were ranked fifth in the league with 40.0 points per game off the bench.
Orlando finished the season 17th with just 35.8 points per game off the bench. The team averaged only 33.3 points per game off the bench, good for 23rd in the league after Wagner's injury.
That does not explain the Magic's offensive struggles. But it sure did not help and was the surest sign of how much the injuries cut the Magic out from the knees during the 2025 season.
Re-establishing the bench and the Magic's ability to score off the bench will be critical for the team to take its next step.
Undoubtedly, the team has affected the production it can get from the bench.
The Magic lost Cole Anthony, who averaged 9.4 points per game last year, tied for second in bench scoring behind Moe Wagner and Anthony Black. Injuries hit the Magic's bench hard last year.
Getting Wagner back (and his 12.9 points per game from last year) will boost the bench tremendously. As will the addition of Tyus Jones (10.2 points per game last year and three straight years of at least 10.0 points per game, albeit as mostly a starter) should boost the Magic's bench scoring.
Even the contributions from Goga Bitadze were vital and will be vital early in the season as the Magic wait for Moe Wagner to return. Orlando has plenty of options off its bench to build one of the best reserve groups in the league once again.
The Magic know they will get strong defense from Jonathan Isaac. Any addition he brings offensively will support the team tremendously.
Depth was critical in the Playoffs
Theoretically, with more established scoring in the starting lineup with the addition of Desmond Bane, the Orlando Magic should be able to shrink their rotation.
Orlando, when healthy, should never have a lineup without one of the Magic's key four players -- Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane. For the playoffs, the Magic should not have any lineup without at least two of those players on the court.
What became abundantly clear during the Playoffs last season was how vital good bench play was for separating the contenders from the pretenders.
The Indiana Pacers were third in bench scoring with 37.3 points per game in the Playoffs. The Oklahoma City Thunder were sixth with 32.2 point sper game.
The Magic ended 14th with 18.2 points per game off the bench during their short playoff run. That bench scoring was simply not there, putting even more pressure on a starting group that was stretched woefully thin already against the Boston Celtics.
Certainly, starters matter. And the Magic will need great production from their starting lineup. They ultimately understood that to push themselves into the bigger conversation at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Orlando is in the conversation because of its top-end talent. But rebuilding its bench scoring will make the Magic a bigger threat. As they learned in 2024, it can take them up another level.
There are a lot of eyes not only on Moe Wagner's return from injury, but Anthony Black's development as a more consistent scoring option, whether Tristan da Silva can step into a larger role and how Tyus Jones fit into the equation.
Orlando needs its bench to return to its glory to get them there.