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10 Opponents the Orlando Magic should get a national TV game against

With the Olympics coming to a close, the excitement for the 2025 NBA season is beginning to build. The league should release its schedule within the next two weeks. Orlando Magic fans are eager to see if the league finally features them on national TV.

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic should get more national attention this year and more national TV appearances than the one they got last year.
The Orlando Magic should get more national attention this year and more national TV appearances than the one they got last year. / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
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Title Contenders

6. Boston Celtics

Really, the ticket for the Orlando Magic to get on national TV is to attach them to a proven national brand and a team already in the national spotlight. They are probably going to have to leach of another team's success and attention. And then win that game to prove themselves worthy of more attention.

Narrative-wise, no team probably gets used as a model for the Orlando Magic more than the Boston Celtics. And that is probably unfair considering the Celtics were the runaway champions last year and runaway favorites to win a second straight title after they brought their entire team back.

Still, Paolo Banchero gets easily compared to Jayson Tatum. Franz Wagner has similarities to Jaylen Brown. The backcourt duo of Jalen Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is getting compared to the defensive prowess of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.

Orlando is Boston-lite it seems. Or the Magic are trying to build the same kind of continuity and long-term vision that built the Celtics into perennial title contenders. The Celtis are the model for everyone in the league.

Orlando arguably plays Boston as tough as any team in the league. Certainly any team outside the contending tier of teams.

The Magic scored a humongous victory in a marquee game during the In-Season Tournament last year, routing the Celtics 113-96 in a Black Friday matinee. That was a big moment during the Magic's nine-game win streak early in the season. It gave confirmation that the team could compete.

Boston still has Orlando's number. The Celtics won the season series with a pair of blowout victories in Boston in December. No one is under any impression the Magic would have put up a serious series if they had won in the first round.

But the Magic are good for a good game against the Celtics in the regular season. Like with so many other teams, the Magic are just a difficult matchup to deal with.

5. Denver Nuggets

It is always a little easier to get the Orlando Magic or a team not in the national spotlight on national TV against one of the teams on the West Coast. Those 10:30 p.m. time slots are difficult to fill.

The Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets would be another good candidate to look at too. The Magic and Nuggets have played several entertaining games—including a buzzer-beater from Nikola Jokic two years ago in Denver followed by Paolo Banchero's triple-double to lead an undermanned Magic team to a win last year.

Orlando was one of the few teams to sweep the defending champions last year. The Nuggets recognize the Magic as a tough matchup. They would make for a good January Wednesday on ESPN.

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