A year ago, Orlando looked like it might finally snap its All-Star drought. Paolo Banchero had the early inside track, then Franz Wagner surged into the conversation before injuries derailed both runs and left the Magic empty-handed for a second straight season.
Now the conversation has shifted, and Desmond Bane may be the best bet to get Orlando back on the All-Star map.
Banchero remains the last Magic player to make the All-Star Game, doing it in 2024, and he still looks like the likeliest Orlando player to end the drought in ’27. But in the new U.S. vs. the World setup in Phoenix, Bane has a case that’s hard to ignore. He enters his second season with the Magic after being the team’s most steady presence through a brutal start last year, then playing in every game - regular season and postseason - and becoming, as the source put it, the “heart and soul of the organization.”
That status may still evolve, but the first eight months of this year have pointed in the same direction. Jalen Suggs had filled the role of emotional engine and spark plug in recent years, but injuries and a rough playoff showing opened the door for Bane to take over that space.
With new head coach Sean Sweeney in place, Anthony Black could be the choice at point guard, while Bane is locked in at the two. He has started every game he has played for the Grizzlies or Magic since ’21.
The numbers back up why he’s in the conversation. In his first season in Orlando, Bane averaged 20.1 points and posted career-best marks from the field at 48.4 percent and at the free-throw line at 90.8 percent.
He also shot 39 percent from 3-point range and chipped in 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. If he settles in even more and pushes those numbers higher, he could be one of the East’s most productive guards.
The path, though, won’t be simple. The new All-Star format and LeBron James’ return to the East add more frontcourt names into the mix, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Jalen Johnson, Karl Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Jayson Tatum, James and Jaylen Brown.
Scottie Barnes may be joined by Kawhi Leonard, Evan Mobley will be in the mix, and Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Washington’s Anthony Davis - who will play for an East team for the first time - deepen the pool even more. That gives Orlando’s top players more competition than before.
Bane’s battle is more straightforward, but not easy. His main competition among East guards includes reigning Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey and Cade Cunningham, all starters a season ago.
Tyrese Haliburton is back in Indiana and should be in the mix too. LaMelo Ball is now in Minnesota instead of Charlotte, Miami lost Norman Powell to Chicago in free agency and Tyler Herro to Milwaukee via trade, and Trae Young is now full-time in Washington.
Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Derrick White also loom, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller could push into the picture as well.
That is why Bane’s route may actually be cleaner than the one facing Banchero or Wagner. Orlando’s shooting guard does not need to be the first name on every scouting report to get there. He just needs to keep producing at a high level and build on the efficiency and poise he showed in his first year with the Magic.
He already showed he can do that even in the playoffs. Against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, Banchero put up 45 and 38-point games and averaged more than 26 points, while Wagner played in the first four games and averaged 16.8 points across more than 30 minutes a night. Bane’s two highest-scoring games of the series came with Banchero and Wagner alongside him, and even when he leaned more toward shot-making than playmaking, he stayed effective.
Sean Sweeney’s arrival will change some things, but assistant coach Joe Prunty remains in place to help carry out the offense. Prunty’s first season in Central Florida had its ups and downs, but the logic stays the same: when the shooting is cleaner, everything flows better. Bane should remain one of the team’s key pieces, and if he takes another step, Orlando should too.
If that happens, Bane may end up as the Magic’s strongest candidate to finally represent the franchise in the 2027 All-Star Game in Phoenix.
In Other News...
Magic Face A Defining Season For The Banchero-Wagner Core
The Hornets offseason reset offered a stark reminder of how quickly a team can choose a different path when the ceiling feels too familiar. After a recent Play-In Tournament appearance, Charlotte moved LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges in a sweeping reshuffle that brought back players such as Naz Reid and Grayson Allen, a clear attempt to avoid getting trapped in the middle. For the Magic, watching a rival take that kind of aggressive turn only sharpens the focus on where Orlando stands entering another pivotal year.
Orlando has lived in the Play-In Tournament for consecutive seasons, but its situation is not nearly as simple as flipping the roster for a fresh start. Financial constraints leave less room for maneuver, and that puts more pressure on the Banchero-Wagner core to push the team forward without the kind of reset button Charlotte just used. The Magic do not have much margin for standing still now, and the next step has to come with more urgency than promise. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Could Face An Early Roster Decision Nobody Wanted
The Magic have already made one notable move to brace for a tougher Eastern Conference, bringing Nikola Vuevi back to help the bench and deepen a roster that will be under pressure from the start. Even with the inevitable chatter that comes with any team trying to climb in a crowded conference, the core conversation in Orlando still centers on how the front office balances urgency with patience around its young foundation.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are expected to remain the untouchables in that equation, which leaves the team to think harder about other ways to shake up the roster if the season starts slowly. In that scenario, the pressure would fall on the supporting pieces and whether Orlando decides it needs a different mix sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]