Former Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford used to say that every season starts from scratch and starts from zero. A team has to rebuild itself and its habits from the start of each training camp. Even if there is a lot of carryover from the previous season.
If anything, the Magic's 2026 season was a reminder that not everything carries over, even when there is a lot of familiarity between the coaching staff and players and between teammates.
The Magic seemingly cannot wait to start over and start anew. They cannot wait for their chance at redemption.
Orlando is bringing back much of the same roster. The biggest change was the hiring of coach Sean Sweeney. Things will be different.
But all the pressure remains on the players. Considering the frustrations from last year and the team's financial situation, a lot of the focus and pressure is on its star players. Fair or not, they carry the responsibility for the team's results.
All eyes have been darting toward Paolo Banchero to overcome all the questions and doubts that surround him -- again, fair or not. He is as eager as anyone to start this season and start from square one again.
"I'm starting back from zero, I feel like," Banchero said on The Stephen A. Smith Show during Fanatics Fest last weekend. "We have to take the next step. I have to take the next step. I'm putting that pressure on myself. Not in a bad way, but a good way."
Pressure, of course, comes with the business. It comes with being the kind of star Banchero believes he can be. And the Magic know they left a lot on the board last year.
That is why there seems to be a chip on their shoulder and an eagerness to get started.
There is undoubtedly a lot of work ahead for the Magic, but Banchero said he is locked in for the season.
Stewing in defeat
Everyone has had to stew in the defeat in the Playoffs for nearly three months now. Another two months of sitting in it is only further motivation for a team with major ambitions.
Stars are always at the center of the debate for any season. And so this summer has become something of a debate about Paolo Banchero and his place in the league.
He still had a solid season -- averaging 22.2 points per and a career-best 8.4 rebounds per game to go with 5.2 assists per game. He upped his averages to 26.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in the seven-game playoff series. That included 45 points in the Game 5 loss and 38 points in the Game 7 loss.
Questions still hound Banchero about his efficiency -- despite shooting a career-best field goal percentage and career-best true shooting percentage. Banchero has been at the center of many advanced analytics questioning whether his stats are empty calories.
Indeed, the Magic were just 26-25 in the 51 games Franz Wagner missed where Paolo Banchero was on his own carrying the team. It left a stain on his record. The team still has not had a positive net rating with Banchero on the floor -- clocking in at -0.6 points per 100 possessions.
Banchero has always turned his game up after the All-Star break and the Playoffs. But he has not netted the results.
More than anything, a player of his caliber and potential is judged on how far his team goes in the Playoffs. He has helped deliver the Magic into the Playoffs. No one questions that potential. But he and the team want so much more.
"Your first couple of years, you are just happy to be here and trying to figure it all out," Banchero said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. "After losing three years in a row in the first round, that sense of urgency is definitely there for me. Just to work as hard as I can and keep my mind on the main goal, which is obviously to win in the postseason and get past the first round and get deep in the playoffs. That's been on my mind all summer."
Banchero dealt with injuries the last two year, missing time in 2025 with a torn oblique after a stellar start to the season. He suffered a strained groin in November in 2026 that cost him a month. He seemed like he was catching up and trying to get healthy the entire season.
Banchero has vowed to come into camp in "elite shape." He knows he performs in the Playoffs, but the goal needs to be to go deeper in the Playoffs. Ultimately winning is what counts. He and his team have not been enough.
Everyone is expecting Banchero to come into camp better prepared for the rigors of the season and in better shape after a frustrating season. So much of this season starts with him and his preparation.
Enough to win?
The other question then centers on the roster. It is hard for a roster to do a hard reset and change itself when very little on the roster has actually changed. The only roster addition for the Orlando Magic was signing Nikola Vucevic, a backup center at best on a minimum contract.
This is the same group that won 45 games last year. Paolo Banchero was the first to admit that was a disappointing for the team. Everyone in the building knows they had more in them. And now it is about finding out how to extract that little bit extra.
It has been a consistent rallying cry across the organization that the roster has enough to win. The front office has affirmed that confidence.
"I think we do have enough," Banchero said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. "We won 45 games this year, and if you ask anybody in the building, we did not put our best foot forward as a team really from the start of the season to the end. We were able to win 45 games, get in the Playoffs, and be up 3-1 with a chance to advance, and we didn't make it happen. I think everybody is left with that sour taste. I think when we all look each other in the eyes, we know that our team is enough."
The Eastern Conference has gotten a lot tougher. Nobody is expecting as much from the Magic this season. There are no expectations to go into the conference finals. The sharks are circling to break up the core parts of the team as they approach the second apron.
Their championship success is not guaranteed.
That puts pressure on the team to deliver. The Magic will not be able to stand still much longer.
Banchero and his team are indeed starting from zero. They have a new coach and they have everything to rebuild and prove again.
"I think we're going to take that next step this year," Banchero said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. "We're going to get out of the first round and make a run in the Playoffs. We've got to be top four. We've got to get home court and give ourselves a chance to rest and get ready for the Playoffs."
This is a new season and a new opportunity. The expectations internally have not changed. It will be on players like Banchero to deliver.
Add us as a preferred source on Google