The Orlando Magic showed off their potential as Eastern Conference contenders in their season-opening win over the Miami Heat. The Magic haven’t won a playoff series since 2010. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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This may very well be the season the Orlando Magic finally break out.
It’s only one game, but the Magic showed off their potential in their 125-121 season-opening win over the Miami Heat. Against a team that has historically dominated the Southeast Division – the Heat have won the division in 12 of the 21 years of its existence – Orlando showed what its capable of with three of its players scoring at least 23 points.
Whether it was its star duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner – 24 points apiece – or its big offseason acquisition in Desmond Bane, the Magic every bit looked like one of the best Eastern Conference teams its expected to be in its season opener.
The team was clearly energized by the return of starting point guard Jalen Suggs, who was making his first appearance since January. Suggs had arguably the biggest impact of any player on the Magic, posting 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field in just slightly more than 16 minutes of playing time.
“He’s a game-changer,” said Bane of Suggs after the win. “He made a big shot on offense, a big steal on defense. He’s the heart and soul of this thing. Without him, we’d still be a good ball club. But he’s a guy that really puts us over the top.”
To top it all off, he posted a game-high +15 plus/minus rating and his impact was noticed on a major level by his teammates. For perspective, Orlando went 21-26 last season without Suggs in the lineup and 20-15 with him in the lineup.
“His energy to get the crowd involved consistently was big for us,” said head coach Jamahl Mosley after the game.
While they’ve been an annual playoff team in recent years, the Magic’s Achilles heel has been their lack of three-point shooting. It’s not just that it’s been bad, it’s the fact that Orlando was literally the worst team in the NBA in treys made and in three-point efficiency last season.
They also finished dead last in treys made during the previous season and have never finished higher than 15th in 3-pointers made in the Mosley era. Bane – who is a career .410 three-point shooter – showed why he is expected to improve the Magic’s three-point shooting and why he’s supposed to be the difference maker in a team looking to break through the glass ceiling.
The Magic particularly did some damage in two-man situations involving the pick-and-roll with Banchero and Bane. It’s something they’ll likely lean on heavily as they show off their new star-studded (and healthy) lineup.
They’ll obviously have some things to clean up moving forward after allowing the Heat to get off to a hot start, with Miami scoring 39 points in the first quarter. However, it’s likely a one-game mirage as the Magic led the NBA in defense last season and started slowing down the pace as the game progressed, allowing only 82 points for the remainder of the way.
The Magic ranked 28th in scoring last season with 105.4 points per game. They showed vast improvement in their season-opening win against a team that may be their biggest competition from within the division.
“It’s honestly the first time I’ve been in a pick-and-roll situation with somebody that’s feared more than me,” says Bane. “I think we’re getting exactly what we want. The first play of the game, I hit him in the pocket and he makes a play. I think organizationally we have some things we can clean up. But I think it’s something that we can definitely go to and thrive off of.”
Although they’ve won the division twice in each of the past couple of years, the Magic haven’t won a playoff series since the Dwight Howard era back in 2010. Part of that has to do with how stacked the Eastern Conference has been in recent years, with the Boston Celtics routinely finishing deep in the playoffs.
This time around, the Celtics are decimated due to Jayson Tatum’s recovery from an Achilles injury and the Indiana Pacers are weakened as they deal with Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles injury from the 2025 NBA Finals.
Furthermore, the Magic are healthy – it’s something that they didn’t have last season. Banchero, Wagner and Suggs only played in six games together last season.
If all three of those guys are healthy combined with the addition of Bane, the Magic could very well threaten for Eastern Conference supremacy with the current juggernauts in the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.
They’ll be looking to change their lack of playoff success this season.
“The expectations are exciting,” says Banchero of the Magic entering the season as Eastern Conference contenders. “The pressure is exciting. It’s a privilege for people to have high expectations for your team. We want to embrace that.”
