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5 Orlando Magic storylines to follow during the NBA Finals

The NBA Finals are here as the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks will battle it out for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. While the Orlando Magic are not playing, there is still plenty for them to follow.

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks took different paths to reach the NBA Finals. They both have a lot to teach the young Orlando Magic.
The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks took different paths to reach the NBA Finals. They both have a lot to teach the young Orlando Magic. / Tim Heitman/GettyImages
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3. The time it takes to win your first title

A major theme of these playoffs has been the seeming changing of the guard.

This year's NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics will mark just the third NBA Finals without Stephen Curry or LeBron James since 2011 (all have come in the last four years though). That torch may have already been passed.

But seeing a second round without LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo truly feels like something is different in the league.

Either way, one of Jayson Tatum or Luka Doncic will win their first NBA title this year. There will be a young player elevating themselves to a new level of the NBA's all-time pantheon.

It is important for a young Magic team to realize that getting to the doorstep of their first championship has been a long journey. It is exceedingly rare for a player to jump into the NBA and immediately win a championship as a start. It takes years of gaining scars and learning to get there.

It does not happen overnight.

Doncic is in his sixth season in the league. This is just his second conference finals appearance. Tatum is in his seventh season and making his second appearance in the NBA Finals.

Their experience is not so unique.

LeBron James took four years to reach his first NBA Finals in 2007. He did not win his first championship until his ninth NBA season. Stephen Curry needed six seasons to win his first title.

Both the Mavericks and Celtics have taken winding roads to get here and give these young stars their first crack at winning a championship. But they are also an important reminder that it takes time for even the best players to get their first shot at a title.

In a society that demands immediate results and seems to exist in a win-or-nothing culture, they remind us that these things do take time.

Paolo Banchero is in his second season in the league. He is probably another three or four years from entering his championship prime. The Magic's job is to set him up to be at the top of the league when he reaches the peak that Doncic and Tatum are currently in.

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