As the Orlando Magic began play in the 2024 calendar year, they were still ambitious with their goals for the season but the vision was fading. Their nine-game win streak ended early in December and injuries were starting to slow this young team down. It felt like they were tailing off as they headed out West to celebrate the beginning of a new year.
The Magic still looked like a playoff team, but they showed their inexperience.
Their first win of 2024 revealed what they were made of and that this was a team to reckon with. This year would be a banner year for this young team, and one that everyone would remember.
That first win, of course, was Paolo Banchero’s triple-double leading an undermanned Magic team to an upset victory over the Denver Nuggets. It was a clarifying night that showed this team what was possible. As they started to get healthier, their ascendance looked more inevitable.
From that win until the Magic’s final win of 2024 – a stunning 17-point comeback in the fourth quarter behind a 22-4 run over the Brooklyn Nets again undermanned with injuries – the Magic made it clear to the league that they had arrived.
Orlando is not merely a coming storm and an up-and-coming team, they are a force making waves in the league now. And this calendar year was a sign of the Magic’s arrival.
From their celebratory regular-season ending win over the Milwaukee Bucks that clinched their spot in the Playoff field to their revelatory Playoff showing as they pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games, the Magic made themselves the team of the now.
That Playoff series especially seemed to be a confidence-building moment for the Magic. Orlando fell behind 0-2 and looked every bit the playoff debutante. But the Magic rallied to even the series and with their backs against the wall pulled out a memorable Game 6 victory to send the home crowd happy.
Orlando ultimately lost the series, but the statement was made. The Magic were not an easy out. And the confidence coming from making the postseason and nearly advancing to the second round lingered into the offseason.
The Magic did not let things lie with their first playoff appearance. They declared their ambitions to boldly make the second round and get homecourt advantage. And even with injuries to both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, they remain fourth in the Eastern Conference and 20-14 this season.
The Magic are still on track to accomplish their goals in the 2025 season.
But the next calendar year will see changes once again. If 2024 was about arrival, then 2025 is about showing their staying power and that they are truly a future title contender.
The Magic have yet to prove this point.
They still have the fewest wins among the East’s top 10 teams against teams with records better than .500, the same as it was in the 2024 season. Orlando has stumbled on national TV regular season games, going winless in the four they have played so far this season.
Nobody is taking the Magic seriously as a title contender. In the Eastern Conference title tiers, the Magic are sitting alone behind the power trio of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.
The next 12 months will likely see the Magic continue to establish themselves as current and future Eastern Conference powers, especially as Banchero and Wagner return to the lineup. But they will also have to ask themselves how to reach the next level.
There is a lot of work to do in the next 12 months.
The previous 12 months though were a banner year for the Magic. 2024 will go down as a banner calendar year for the Magic. One that made Orlando’s path to a title far clearer than it has been in more than a decade.
