The Orlando Magic have spent the summer hearing plenty of doubt, and not much of it has centered on one of the biggest reasons their 2026 season went sideways: the bench.
That second unit fell apart. Orlando’s reserve group slid from 16th in scoring to 27th, and the dip showed up everywhere else too - rebounds, assists, steals and blocks all dropped.
It was a clear regression, and it became even more damaging because so many players were forced into roles they were never meant to fill. Anthony Black, for example, started a career-high 40 games while Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs were hurt.
The starters were still able to build leads. The problem was what happened after that. The bench couldn’t hold up its end, and that sent the front office into the offseason with a clear priority.
There are real reasons to think the Magic’s second unit can look much better this time around.
A big one starts at backup point guard. Orlando cycled through several options there last season, and Tyus Jones never gave them the kind of stability they needed. That was a major piece of why the bench struggled so badly.
The best version of the Magic’s bench in recent memory had Corey Joseph behind the starters - a veteran who knew exactly how to keep things steady. Jevon Carter isn’t the same player, but he can bring a similar kind of value. After signing with Orlando last season, Carter showed he can be a dependable veteran who understands his own game and the league around him.
He has confidence in his shot, but he doesn’t go hunting bad ones or drift outside the offense. Just as important, he gives Orlando a point-of-attack defender who can help limit the drop-off when Jalen Suggs leaves the floor.
That kind of steadiness matters for a bench that doesn’t need a wild card. It needs a hand on the wheel.
Anthony Black should also be back in a role that fits better. Last season, injuries pushed him into the starting lineup, and he responded with career highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks per game.
But that wasn’t the original plan. Orlando wanted him to be a scoring lift for the second unit, and that’s where he should be able to settle in now that the roster is healthier.
Black’s value is obvious: he can play, guard and score from multiple spots. He can work on the wing or at either guard position, which gives the Magic a versatile piece that opponents can’t easily match up with. If he’s coming off the bench as expected, he could become one of the key engines of that group - and maybe even put himself in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation.
The scoring picture should look better overall, too. Orlando didn’t make sweeping changes, but it did bring back Nikola Vucevic for a reason. The front office clearly believes he can fill a need.
Even with Goga Bitadze offering strong rim protection, the Magic’s bench looked much better when Moe Wagner was healthy before his knee injury. Vucevic gives them a similar kind of dependable scoring.
He averaged 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season, and he has long been a reliable shooter. Before being traded from Chicago last season, he was shooting just under 38 percent.
Between Vucevic, Black and Carter, Orlando should have more players in the second unit who can be counted on to score. That was the biggest issue last season, and it’s the one area the team most needed to fix.
There’s also the internal growth angle, whether Magic fans want to hear that phrase or not. Noah Penda and Jamal Cain both stood out in limited minutes last season.
Cain earned a standard contract by delivering every time he got a chance, and he even drew the Cade Cunningham assignment in the playoffs when Franz Wagner went down. He also brought serious athletic pop, capped by what became the dunk of the season.
Penda had a small role too, but he made the most of it and even swung a handful of games in Orlando’s favor. He also looked sharper on offense during Summer League, especially when he went 5 for 10 and scored 23 points in the first game in Vegas. His training camp battle with Jonathan Isaac will be worth watching.
Injuries dominated the conversation around Orlando all season, and for good reason. But if the bench doesn’t take a real step forward, the Magic will be fighting an uphill battle even with everyone healthy.
With a steadier backup point guard, more scoring on the second unit, players returning to roles that fit them better and a few internal gains, Orlando has plenty of reasons to expect a much stronger bench this season.
In Other News...
Anthony Black Just Became A Real Contract Question For Orlando
Anthony Blacks timeline has quietly shifted into one of the more interesting roster questions facing Orlando. The guard has one year left on his rookie contract before he reaches restricted free agency next summer, and that puts the Magic in the familiar spot of weighing a promising young player against a payroll already crowded with other long-term commitments.
Blacks case also sits in a market that has not always been kind to young restricted free agents looking for clean paths to bigger deals. Recent examples like Jonathan Kuminga and Bennedict Mathurin showed how limited outside interest can steer negotiations toward shorter-term outcomes, and Orlando may have to decide whether Black fits into its long-range core or becomes one more talented player squeezed by timing. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Face One Big Test Under Sean Sweeney This Season
The early buzz around Orlandos 2026-27 outlook has the Magic climbing one spot to No. 15 in Bleacher Reports NBA power rankings, a small but telling sign that the league sees progress taking shape. Sean Sweeney now takes over as head coach, and the roster around him has a familiar mix of continuity and familiar names, with Jevon Carter and Jonathan Isaac back in the fold and Nikola Vuevi returning to fill the vacancy left by Moritz Wagner.
For Orlando, the real challenge is not just getting better on paper, but turning that into steadier play across the regular season and then carrying it into a deeper playoff run. A healthier Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner would go a long way toward making that happen, but Sweeneys first season will be judged on whether the Magic can finally pair their talent with the kind of consistency that has been harder to pin down. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Core Faces Its Biggest Test In A Tougher East
The Magic enter the new season with a familiar approach, leaning on continuity after making only a few roster changes and betting that internal growth will carry them forward in a deeper Eastern Conference. Orlandos hopes rest heavily on the development of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane, a young core that has already given the franchise a more stable foundation than it had a few years ago.
Still, the path looks far less forgiving than it did a year ago. ESPNs projection has Orlando finishing 10th in the East, right on the edge of the play-in picture, while several rivals around the conference spent the offseason making bigger splashes. For the Magic, the real question is not whether the talent is there to compete, but whether this group can grow fast enough to keep pace in a conference that keeps getting harder. [Read more 🡒]