There is one obsession for the Orlando Magic this offseason. One thing the Magic needed to address to take any step forward.
Shooting was at the forefront of everyone's mind after the Magic shot an abysmal 31.8 percent from three, the worst mark the league has seen in nearly a decade. In a league that is all about shooting and spacing, the Magic had none.
In fact, the Magic were so bad at shooting that they went 28-10, even shooting just 33.3 percent from three. That would have still been the worst shooting mark in the league.
Orlando needed to address its shooting this offseason. Acquiring Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones this offseason brought in players who would have lapped the Magic's shooting by a mile last season. Orlando needed to find a way to create space.
They were meant to solve the Magic's biggest problem -- the team's poor 3-point shooting.
Of course, the Magic thought they were improving their shooting last year when they acquired Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Instead, Caldwell-Pope had his worst three-point shooting season since the 2016 season. Things just did not click for him.
It has made Magic fans wonder if the issue is how the Magic get their three-point shots. There might be something to that. Orlando's offense tends to run slower and rely more on individual creation. They need a different kind of 3-point shooter, perhaps.
Orlando is looking this season both to increase their makes and attempts, but increase the quality of their 3-pointers. It is all supposed to be about spacing and improving their spacing. So the question is whether Bane and Jones will help on that front or if the Magic will again struggle to get quality 3-point looks.
Everything is a chicken and the egg problem with the Magic. Was the Magic's shooting terrible because of a design flaw in the offense or some other inherent flaw in the offense or is it bad because the team were filled with bad shooters?
The Magic at least tried to increase their 3-point shooting last year. They tried to add players. They even took a lot more shots that should benefit them in the long run.
The question is whether the Magic will find enough internal improvement with the additions of Bane and Jones to take the next step. Last year, the Magic had a decent shot profile, one that should have produced better percentages than they got.
The open shot problem
It is important to remember the context the Orlando Magic entered last season with.
The Magic were not the worst 3-point shooting team in the league in 2024 (although they were not great), but they entered the season with the second fewest 3-pointers in the league.
Orlando entered the 2025 season trying to increase its volume.
Injuries changed that formula -- especially losing a gravity well like Paolo Banchero who could create open shots for suspect shooters like Jalen Suggs. And eventually the team started scaling back its attempts because the team struggled so much to shoot.
The Magic ended at 35.3 attempts per game, 23rd in the league. A big improvement over their 2024 efforts.
What matters then is where those shots are coming from. Orlando is never going to be a team that hoists up threes indiscriminately. Even if the team takes a step up as a shooting team this season, the Magic are still going to measure their 3-point attempts.
Still, last year saw the Magic make a significant step in the number of "wide-open" shots they took (which NBA.com defines as a shot where the closest defender is 6+ feet away).
Orlando last year was 17th in the league with 18.8 wide-open 3-pointers per game. The team was last in the league, making only 35.1 percent of those shots.
Overall, 53.4 percent of the team's total 3-point attempts were categorized as "wide open."
This was true in the Playoffs, too. Of Orlando's 233 3-point attempts in the Playoffs, 90 were "wide-open" (38.6 percent). The Magic made only 28.9 percent of those shots.
Before all the injuries hit the team, the Magic continually showed signs they were going to be a better 3-point shooting team and get higher quality 3-point looks.
Before Franz Wagner's injury in December, the Magic were fourth in the league, generating 22.1 "wide-open" 3-point attempts per game, but still shot 32.8 percent (at least the Washington Wizards were worse).
By the end of the season, the Magic just conceded they were not going to make threes and nearly abandoned the shot. In the final 18 games of the season, mired deep in a 3-point shooting rut, Orlando shot 17.8 "wide-open" 3-point attempts per game and made an astounding 44.9 percent from three.
It is simple that the Magic need to make shots.
"It's frustrating for sure," Franz Wagner said after Game 5. "I think it's very obvious looking at the stat sheet. It's definitely something everyone on the team has to work on. I think there is also a lot of good in that. If we can improve that, we're a dangerous team."
New acquisitions should help
But this is an area Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones should help.
Last year, Bane made 46.9 percent of his 2.4 wide-open 3-point attempts per game. Jones made 46.8 percent of his 2.9 attempts per game. Both would have been by far the best marks on last year's team.
The Magic clearly targeted this duo for their 3-point shooting acumen in addition to their ability to create for others. The hope is that more playmaking and passing can get the team more quality 3-point looks.
The issue will again be about how the Orlando Magic create and get these shots.
Magic built on attempts in 2025
Still, the Orlando Magic improved on these 3-point marks.
In 2024, the Magic were 15th in the league with 18.2 wide-open 3-pointers per game. They were 24th in the league making 37.8 percent of these shots. They accounted for 58.3 percent of their total 3-pointers.
Last year was certainly a step back as the Magic tried to take more threes. They both made fewer and were not as strong at getting these kinds of shots.
How much of that was the team not trusting these shots at a certain point in the season? There is some needed context for these numbers.
The Magic will need to reform their offense to get more of these open shots. But the Magic are not starting from zero like they might be with their percentages.