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5 Orlando Magic players with the most to gain from the 2024 NBA Playoffs

The Orlando Magic are at the tail end of their best season since the Dwight Howard era. While they have made some strides in terms of earning national respect, there is still much to build on and work for. They will have a lot of questions to answer this postseason.

By Matthew Costello

The Orlando Magic are preparing to burst onto the postseason stage and they have a lot to prove in their first trip.
The Orlando Magic are preparing to burst onto the postseason stage and they have a lot to prove in their first trip. / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
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Orlando Magic players with the most to gain from the 2024 NBA Playoffs

A star is born: Paolo Banchero

Starting it out here with the obvious: Paolo Banchero is the Orlando Magic player with the single most to gain from this postseason. The frustrating part is that the only reason he has the most to gain is because the national media still refuses to promote one of the best young NBA players since LeBron James at the level he deserves.

Even with the understanding that Orlando is a small market team that has had limited historical success, it is baffling to see the lack of hype surrounding the second-year player who is also only the fourth player 21 years or younger in the last 40 seasons to have a career average of 20-plus points, 6-plus rebounds, and 4-plus assists per game.

Who did he join on that list? Just a few guys you might have heard of named: Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Those guys all turned out to be pretty good.

It is fair to say Banchero is not getting nearly the same love and attention those guys got early on.

If Banchero shows up in the postseason in front of a national audience the way he has shown up for Orlando all season long, he has a chance to make it undeniable. There would be no hiding it anymore.

He is one of the NBA’s best young talents. He is a franchise player you build your team around. And he is worthy of being talked about as a perennial All-Star and future superstar in this league.

These are things Magic fans already know and we are close to the rest of the world seeing for themselves.