Christmas did not come early for the Orlando Magic this year. It has been an injury-ridden season full of challenges. First, Paolo Banchero went down with a tricky oblique injury after playing just five games. The loss of their star player threw the Magic off, but they eventually regained their footing, led by Franz Wagner.
Then, Wagner suffered the same injury as Banchero, and the Magic had to change everything again. They have lost three consecutive games now and saw Jalen Suggs twist his ankle in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Down their three best offensive players, the game got away from the Magic.
Nevertheless, the Magic are still expecting to keep their position as a top-five team in the Eastern Conference and make the playoffs. They have already seen players step up when they needed it the most and may be on track for a successful post-Christmas run. The Magic have already put together quite a lot of those.
2011-12 season
The 2011-12 NBA season was shortened to 55 games due to a lockout and did not start until Christmas Day. So, the Magic’s post-Christmas run that year was also the beginning of the season. The Magic fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Christmas Day but then went on a tear.
Orlando won its first four games after Christmas and then lost to the Pistons, beat the Wizards, and lost to the Bulls before going on another five-game win streak. By January 17, the Magic had a 10-3 record.
The Magic finished the 2011-12 season with a 37-29 record and went to the playoffs but lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers.
2010-11 season
By the time Christmas rolled around in 2010, the Orlando Magic had an 18-12 record, including a win over the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day. The wins kept coming after Christmas, as the Magic won their next seven games and put together an 8-2 record in the ten games after their Christmas Day matchup. From Christmas until the end of January, the Magic actually only lost six games.
The Magic finished the 2010-11 season with a 52-30 record and went to the playoffs. They lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.
2008-09 season
In 2008, the Magic approached Christmas with a 23-6 record and did not slow down after the holidays either. Orlando won eight of its ten games after Christmas, improving to a 31-8 record. That season, the Magic put together two seven-game win streaks—one from December 13 to December 27 and one from January 6 to January 17.
The Magic were a strong team in 2008-09, finishing the regular season with a 59-23 record and going all the way to the NBA Finals. In the finals, the Magic fell in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
1994-95 season
In the 1994-95 season, the Orlando Magic did not play on Christmas Day but entered the holidays with a 20-5 record. Things did not slow down after Christmas. The Magic won eight of their next ten games and put together a six-game win streak after that.
Orlando finished the season with a 57-25 record, led by youngsters Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway, and went all the way to the NBA Finals. They took down the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Indiana Pacers but fell to the Houston Rockets in four games.