In a season where the Orlando Magic failed to live up to expectations, Game 3 revealed a piece of the vision of what they could be. It revealed their potential amid a frustrating season.
The Magic held onto the lead late against the Pistons in Game 3 and needed one big shot to ease the pressure.
Throughout the final three minutes, the Magic leaned on their stars, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. They took turns hitting big shots.
Banchero hit the biggest, draining a three that bounced high off the back rim and fell in to give Orlando an eight-point lead. The back-to-back threes from Wagner and Banchero in the final two minutes were everything this Magic team could be.
As they ran back to the other end of the floor after the miraculous shot, Wagner ran to Banchero and began playfully punching his chest.
In a league filled with drama -- manufactured or real -- and for a team that had been through so much turmoil this season, this felt like a clear sign that its two stars were fully aligned.
They were together, enjoying playing together and playing off each other in exactly the way the Magic envisioned.
Wagner feels more important than ever. Questions and pressure surround Banchero more than ever. This feels like a critical season for the Magic and the future of this partnership.
Entering the season, there seems to be no division between them. Their goals seem to be aligned. And Banchero, at least, is genuinely excited to be back on the floor with Wagner this season.
"Franz is one of the best players, if not the best player, I have had the chance to play with," Paolo Banchero said on the Internal Reps podcast with his high school teammate Tyler Preece. "Him just being 6-10, he's my height, he is able to move like a guard. He's one of the best defenders in the league, in my opinion. He is a super smart player. He has always known how to play the game, very high IQ. Our relationship has been good. Hopefully now it will take a step."
Banchero and Wagner indeed took the floor together at the Rico Hines Run in Los Angeles last week and Banchero said on the podcast he had plans to work out with Wagner at other points in the summer.
This is a duo that knows they control the franchise's future. Banchero wants to bring a championship to Orlando. He knows that rests on him and his relationship with Wagner.
The questions are always there
From the moment the Orlando Magic added Paolo Banchero to the core with Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, the team has been compared to the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Similarly, it did not take long for the familiar questions that surrounded Boston's "Jays" to find Banchero and Wagner.
Their potential is clear. Both are All-Star-level players, hampered the last two years by a string of injuries. But their fit has been unclear because of their inconsistent shooting.
As the team's lack of results has piled up, the national media, always looking for division and drama, have often tried to drive a wedge.
The reality is that with the Magic's payroll ballooning, the team will have to ask itself some hard questions based on this season's results. But the Magic have also not seen their two best players together often enough.
That is something Banchero is eager to get more of.
"I'm honored to get to play alongside him and take little bits and pieces from his game and what he is able to do out there and add it to my game," Banchero said on the Internal Reps podcast. "He does so many great things on the floor. It's really impressive. Me and him, if we are able to figure it out, I think we can win a championship together. It's just a matter of time."
The results are still a bit mixed, to be fair, even with the immense upside.
The Magic had a +4.5 net rating (113.7 offensive rating/109.3 defensive rating) in 429 minutes with both Banchero and Wagner on the floor together last year. They were at +3.8 points per 100 possessions (110.4/106.7) in 988 minutes in the 2025 season and +1.7 points per 100 possessions (109.4/107.7) in 1,799 minutes in the 2024 season.
In the 2026 playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic had a +15.0 net rating (109.8/94.8) in 84 minutes. They had a -7.9 net rating (104.6/112.5) in 158 minutes in the 2025 series against the Boston Celtics. They were at +6.4 points per 100 possessions (103.8/97.4) in 231 minutes in the 2024 series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Part of the problem remains injuries have kept them from playing together and gaining chemistry. But they have gotten better.
The bigger argument has often been that Wagner and the Magic play better when he is on the floor alone.
According to Databallr, which removes low-leverage minutes, the Magic had a +1.9 net rating when the duo shared the floor (115.3/113.3), -0.2 net rating (115.7/115.9) when Banchero was on the floor alone and +4.3 net rating (117.9/113.6) when Wagner was on the floor on his own.
That has often been used as a cudgel against Banchero. And a reason people give for the Magic abandoning this duo.
This is a big season for Wagner too. And Banchero wants to help him get there.
Franz's next step
After two seasons hampered by injury -- the torn oblique in 2025 and the high ankle sprain in 2026 -- Franz Wagner has to prove he can stay healthy again, even if he has been hard to keep from playing in his first three seasons.
Wagner has often been the quiet one on the team. He is intensely competitive, but he does not always display the egotistical traits needed to take over games.
It was genuinely shocking to see Franz Wagner pushed to the front when Paolo Banchero got hurt early in the 2025 season and see him lead the team.
It feels like Orlando is constantly pushing Wagner to be more assertive and aggressive. That is something Banchero pushes for to.
"I always tell Franz, 'Bro, look to score first.' Whenever he has the ball, be aggressive, look to take your man and beat your man," Banchero said on the Internal Reps podcast. "Any time he is being aggressive, we're better. When we are both being aggressive, that's when we're at our best. . . . Both of us are very unselfish and very team-oriented. I feel like with us there are no personal agendas between me and him. We just want to win and get Orlando to a place it has never been before."
It will be a different season for Wagner. He will play without his brother, Moe, for the first time in his career. He is being pushed out of the next and on his own without the security blanket of familiarity.
It feels like it is a big breakthrough season for both of the Magic's stars. It almost has to be with the pressure the team is under.
If the Magic are going to have that kind of season, it will take both of these players doing it together.
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