Orlando Magic enter 2024-25 NBA season with an underrated strength 

The new NBA season is coming closer and closer with every day. Soon, we will be able to leave the endless predictions and speculations of the offseason behind and watch the NBA in action again. The excitement for a new season is always bigger when the team you root for is set up for success. 

Fortunately, the Magic are one of the teams set up for regular season success in the 2024-25 campaign. The Magic should be able to carry the momentum from last season’s playoff appearance over to the new season and continue to build the foundation they need to become a contender in the future.

The Magic may not be on the same level as the Celtics, Knicks, Bucks, and 76ers regarding star power and experience, but they still look like one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Missing the playoffs would be a huge disappointment. 

What makes the Magic such a solid team is primarily their defense. It is rare to see such a young team put together one of the best defenses in the league but the Magic did it last season. The 2024-25 season might be even better. Everyone is older and more experienced, Jonathan Isaac finally got a healthy offseason, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made his way to Orlando. 

On top of that, the Magic have Paolo Banchero. He receives a lot of criticism for his inefficiency but has shown that he can carry a team with few offensive weapons. 

That is not all though. 

The Magic’s continuity is an underrated superpower 

The Magic are an incredibly young team but they know each other. The only new additions to the roster are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tristan da Silva, and Cory Joseph. Caldwell-Pope is an easy fit with almost any constellation of players, da Silva looks like a solid role player ready to slide into a reserve spot, and Joseph likely won’t play too much. 

Everyone else has experience playing with each other. The rest of this roster went through a successful regular season and a grueling playoff series together. That not only strengthens the companionship and locker room vibes but also means that these players know each other well. They know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and moves. 

Putting together a coherent offense is much easier when the player with the ball knows exactly where his teammates will be, where they will expect the pass, and where they are most comfortable receiving it. 

The same goes for the defense. Getting rotations right is much simpler when you have complete trust in your teammates and know where they will move to without having to check. 

In a recent article by ESPN’s Neil Paine, the Magic ranked second in continuity across the league. Re-signing almost all of their own free agents and keeping last season’s rotation largely in place may not seem like a big deal but it could be a real difference-maker for the Magic. 

Gathering experience is the key to becoming an impactful NBA player, especially in the playoffs. Having a group of young players gather that experience together is the foundation for building a competitive team.