Paolo Banchero hasn't been a member of the Orlando Magic too long (he's about to enter his fourth season, to be exact), but he's already seen the team around him transform in his tenure. In Banchero's rookie season, Bol Bol was playing 21 minutes per game. Terrence Ross was getting 22. Markelle Fulz averaged the fourth-most minutes on the team. Things weren't bleak, per se, because it quickly became apparent that Banchero and running mate Franz Wagner were going to become franchise cornerstones — but it was also clear that real contention in the East was still years away.
Well, "years away" is officially here. All of those guys are mere memories now, as the Magic roster has been overhauled in the years since. Now, instead of a roster with players who look like future stars flanked by serviceable veterans, the Magic have current stars surrounded by young players who are still improving.
Things are looking way, way up for this team. And with the East more wide open than it's been in years, the Magic have the ammo for their first Eastern Conference Finals run since 2010-11.
Comparing the Magic roster in 2022-23 to now
Roster turnover is obviously common in the NBA, so in some respects it's a surprise that so much of Orlando's core from the 2022-23 season is still around. Banchero, Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr, and Mo Wagner are all still around and play big roles on the current Magic.
But today's version of each of those players is drastically different — okay, WCJ is basically still the same — than the 2022 version of them. So the combination of improvement from each of the core guys plus some hugely important new pieces makes this Magic team feel brand new.
Here's the team rookie Paolo played on:
Position | Starter | Backup |
|---|---|---|
Point guard | Markelle Fultz | Cole Anthony |
Shooting guard | Jalen Suggs | Gary Harris |
Small forward | Franz Wagner | Terrence Ross |
Power forward | Paolo Banchero | Bol Bol |
Center | Wendell Carter Jr. | Mo Bamba / Wagner |
And the (potential) rotation that head coach Jamahl Mosley could trot out in October.
Position | Starter | Backup |
|---|---|---|
Point guard | Jalen Suggs | Tyus Jones |
Shooting guard | Desmond Bane | Anthony Black |
Small forward | Franz Wagner | Tristan da Silva |
Power forward | Paolo Banchero | Jonathan Isaac |
Center | Wendell Carter Jr. | Mo Wagner |
The backcourt is obviously the biggest area of change — and what a glorious change it has been. Desmond Bane is the best trade addition this team has made in many years, and Tyus Jones is about as good a backup point guard as you'll find in the free agent market. Plus, Suggs is almost unrecognizable from the player he was three full years ago and Anthony Black is still one of the best-kept secrets in the league. Love and respect to the guards from that first team — they're all varying levels of Magic legends — but this is a pretty monumental step up.