Paolo Banchero believes Magic are ‘right there’ with other East contenders

Paolo Banchero believes Magic are ‘right there’ with other East contenders

Coming off the team’s best season in over a decade, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero is very bullish on his team’s opportunity heading into the 2024-25 season.

In a recent appearance on ESPN First Take, the budding wing already believes the Magic are ready to contend with other elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

“We feel like we’re right there,” he said Friday. “I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-3, top-2 seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the No. 5 seed and had a chance to really grab the 2-seed at the end of the season.

“We were right there last year. We got better this year. Like I said, I got better. All of us got better. We got some new pieces that’s going to help a lot. We’re trying to make some noise. We should easily be a top-four, top-three team, and have a chance to win the East.”

The Magic have made one of the most sizable leaps since Banchero, who was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, has joined the organization.

After a dismal 22-60 finish in 2021-22, the Magic improved by 12 wins followed by a 13-win jump last year at 47-35, which netted them the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Orlando capped off last year with the third-best adjusted defensive rating–accounting for the strength of schedule–and the 16th-best NET Rating, according to Dunks and Threes.

Banchero, 21, averaged 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists last year, improving his 3-point shooting to 33.9 percent (29.8 percent as rookie) on similar volume, leading to a jump in effective field goal percentage (49.7) and true-shooting percentage (54.6).

Banchero and Franz Wagner make up one of the best young duos in the entire NBA. Orlando was dismal last year offensively, specifically because of the team’s lack of spacing. Though that should collectively improve with the introduction of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed a three-year deal, $66 million deal with Orlando this offseason, plus Tristan da Silva, who it drafted No. 18 overall.

The bottom-third of the East leaves plenty to be desired, though the top–beginning with Boston–is no easy trek. New York made improvements this offseason (despite losing Isaiah Hartenstein); Milwaukee made significant improvements around the margins while Philadelphia signed Paul George plus parts to complement their newfound trio.

Orlando has a very good foundation with great coaching, so we’ll see if they can take another sizable leap heading into next year.

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