The Orlando Magic have built something real over the last three seasons. They’ve made the playoffs each year, absorbed the usual 82-game wear and tear, and shown they can handle the grind.
But the next step is bigger than just getting there again. For this group, the real question is whether they can stop living on the edge and carve out a cleaner route into the postseason.
That matters because the Magic have already spent too much time fighting for survival in April. Their first trip with Paolo Banchero and company came in 2023-24, when they finished fifth in the East under Jamahl Mosley and pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Game 7. Since then, the margin for error has shrunk.
In 2024-25 and 2025-26, Orlando landed in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The 2024-25 version worked out after a win over the Atlanta Hawks, which led straight into a first-round matchup with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
Boston handled Orlando in five games. Last season was even more stressful.
The Magic stumbled to a 45-37 record and an eighth-place finish, dropped the first play-in game to the Philadelphia 76ers, then had to beat the Charlotte Hornets at home in a do-or-die game just to keep the season alive.
That kind of path is asking a lot from a young team. Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Desmond Bane are still all very young, but they’re also more seasoned now and, as the source material puts it, hungry to show they belong in the same class as the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
Orlando has talent. The issue is that recent seasons have made clear how much has to go right for this group just to get through the front door.
There’s also no easy break waiting in the division. On a recent episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, the outlook for next season was only a modest step forward, with a projected 47-35 record. The reasoning was straightforward: the Magic are working through a tougher Eastern Conference, they’ll see their Southeast Division opponents often, and not much is going to come easy.
"I think that they are only gonna be two games better. I think that they will go 47 and 35 this season.
I think that there's so many things that have to go right for this group. And, you know, at some point, they're gonna face bumps in the road under their new coach. As skilled as Sean Sweeney is and the experience he has accrued as an assistant, he is a rookie in his role, and he is trying to lead a young team.
And like we talked about, this is a better Eastern Conference. And there's a lot of challenges here just within their own division, and in that Southeast division, they are going to be facing those opponents the most. And there's no team that's gonna roll over, not like before.
But I do think that a motivated Paolo Banchero, a new voice in the locker room, and hopefully some continued continuity, you know, among this group can help them at least get a couple more wins and really what I'm looking for, Drew, is can they stay out of the play-in tournament? Can they get one of those one through six seeds and be a lock for the playoffs instead of battling for their playoff lives and not getting a rest before the most physical part of the year in the NBA?"
That’s the target now. Not just making the playoffs, but doing it without the extra baggage of the play-in hanging over them.
The Magic have shown enough to believe they can contend for that kind of finish. What they haven’t done yet is make it look comfortable.
In Other News...
Magic Just Made A Bigger Play For Tampa Area Fans
The Magic are giving their push into the Tampa-St. Petersburg market a bigger platform, announcing an expanded partnership with WMOR-TV that will put all regular season games not picked up nationally on the air there for the 2026-27 NBA season. It is an extension of an existing arrangement, but the new setup should make the team far easier to follow for viewers on the west coast of Florida who have been stuck piecing together access in the past.
The broadcasts will continue to feature Dante Marchitelli and Jeff Turner, with Kendra Douglas back as reporter, giving the regional telecasts some continuity as the Magic deepen their reach beyond Orlando. For a franchise that has long worked to widen its footprint, full over-the-air access in Tampa carries obvious value, and it also gives the team another way to stay visible in one of Floridas most important media markets. [Read more 🡒]
Orlando Magic Still Have One Obvious Hurdle To Real Playoff Progress
Injuries have been the constant drag on Orlandos rise, with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both forced to work through stretches that undercut the teams rhythm and ceiling. Even so, the Magic kept pushing enough to reach the playoffs, a sign of how much talent remains in place and how much the group has been able to withstand while trying to climb in the East.
The first-round exit, though, left the front office with a clear message: getting there is not the same as taking the next step. Jamahl Mosley was dismissed and Sean Sweeney was brought in to guide the next phase, with the organization continuing to circle back to the same core issue - health and consistency have to hold if Orlando is going to turn promise into real postseason progress. [Read more 🡒]
Paolo Banchero Faces A Bigger Question Than This Latest Snub
Paolo Banchero keeps finding himself in the middle of the leagues youth debate, and the latest shift only sharpens the conversation around his place in it. The Magic forward had been sitting at the top of one ranking of the NBAs best players at 23, only to be nudged aside by Amen Thompson, a move that says less about a single list and more about the tight race among the leagues brightest young stars.
For Orlando, the bigger issue is not a slot in a ranking but what Banchero becomes next. He already gives the Magic scoring and leadership, but Thompsons edge in defense, rebounding and efficiency is a reminder of the areas that still matter most for Bancheros ceiling. If Orlando is going to push past its recent playoff frustration, Bancheros next step likely has to come through sharper efficiency and a more reliable outside shot. [Read more 🡒]