Top 10 games of the Orlando Magic's 2024 season

1. Jan. 5, 2024: Undermanned Win

Individually, the Orlando Magic's season was about establishing their future stars and the core they believe will lead them back to Playoff glory. As a team, the season was about confirming the culture they built over the last three years could grow into a winning team.

Orlando wanted to see whether the belief and intensity that defined the team was something that could survive any moment.

If there is one thing this Magic team will be remembered for, it will be thetogetherness and camaraderie the team played with. It will be for the way the team worked and improved throughout the season. Yes, this is the beginning of a long Playoff run for the Magic.

But there are moments that showed what this team was about. When the chips are down, a team reveals its culture. And no game revealed that like the Orlando Magic's stunning road win over the Denver Nuggets.

Starting with only nine players available—and then losing Anthony Black after four minutes because of an illness—and having only one center in Moe Wagner, the Magic would have had every reason to pack it in at the end of their road trip.

They could have done that too when they fell behind by 18 points. But that is not who this Magic team is. They kept grinding and found a way, starting with their defense and finding enough offense to win.

Paolo Banchero carried the team with his first career triple-double of 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Jalen Suggs made seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points as his hot shooting from the loss to the Sacramento Kings made the trip to Denver.

The Magic closed the game with a killer stop on Jamal Murray's game-tying attempt by Jonathan Isaac. Everyone contributed something throughout the roster—Trevelin Queen scored five points in 31 minutes, but gave the team a huge defensive lift to survive.

This is what the Magic wanted to prove they were about all season. They played together, and they fought every moment of every game. That ethos was exemplified most in this win over the Nuggets. It was a defining game for the team and the culture they built.