Paolo Banchero enters this season with the kind of pressure that comes when talent stops being a promise and starts being a demand.
For Orlando, the expectations are simple: the All-Star level has to be the baseline, not the payoff. Banchero has already flashed the kind of force that once drew LeBron James comparisons, and the idea now is to get back to that kind of impact with a body that’s been reshaped for the job.
After slimming down and adding muscle, he’s carrying a 6'10" frame that, at its best, is difficult to handle. The Magic need that version more often.
There were stretches last season when he looked slow and uncertain. He has owned that himself, including why he didn’t become an All-Star and why he struggled in that first play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
That kind of honesty matters, but Orlando needs more than reflection. The work has reportedly been happening behind the scenes, in the weight room and in private practice sessions, and now the next step is turning that into production when the games count.
That urgency is only sharper after what happened against Detroit. Game 6 became the kind of collapse that sticks with a team, and Don Strouble didn’t sugarcoat it, calling it “one of the great collapses in NBA history.” He said the second half of that game was “absolutely egregious,” noting that the Magic scored only 17 points, missed 23 or 24 shots in a row, and went 45 minutes of real time without making a basket.
Even with that disaster hanging over the series, Banchero showed what he can be in Games 5 and 7. The problem was that it still wasn’t enough.
After the elimination, he said in his postgame comments that “we're not good enough right now.” That honesty has carried into his offseason appearances, where he has talked about becoming more durable and avoiding complacency after his first taste of the playoffs, when he was simply grateful to be there.
Orlando is past that stage now. Three straight first-round exits have made that clear, and the franchise hasn’t won a playoff series since 2010.
The Magic have the pieces, and Banchero is the one who can tilt the whole thing. They’ve already shown they can push around the No. 1 seed in the East.
Now they have to turn that into something bigger, with health, commitment, and whatever extra edge they can squeeze from that Game 6 pain.
For this group, that collapse can’t just be remembered. It has to be used.
In Other News...
Magic Enter Camp With A Rotation Crunch Sean Sweeney Must Solve
Sean Sweeney steps into camp with continuity working in his favor and a few lineup puzzles still hanging in the air. The Magic brought back most of last seasons group, added rookie Izaiyah Nelson and re-signed Nikola Vucevic, so the core is largely intact even as the coaching change from Jamahl Mosley gives the room a new voice. Orlando also moved on without Jett Howard and Moritz Wagner, which leaves just enough turnover to make the coming preseason feel like a sorting exercise rather than a full reset.
For Sweeney, the real challenge is less about remaking the roster than figuring out how all the pieces fit. Several positional and rotation questions remain unresolved, and the answers figure to hinge on who is healthy, who performs best in camp and which combinations work against different matchups. In a league where depth can become a strength only if the rotations are clean, the Magic enter camp with more stability than uncertainty, but still enough of both to keep the decisions interesting. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Suddenly Face Bigger Questions About Their All In Gamble
The Magic entered last summer with clear intent, making a major trade for Desmond Bane in hopes of lifting an offense that needed a real jolt. Instead, the combination of injuries and a disappointing season has sent the conversation in the other direction, with ESPNs future power rankings dropping Orlando from seventh to 22nd and raising fresh doubts about how sturdy the roster looks around its core.
What was supposed to be a confident all-in swing now comes with heavier questions about the front offices read on the teams timeline and upside. With payroll constraints already part of the picture, Orlando has to sort through not just what went wrong, but whether the current foundation can still support the kind of competitive rise the franchise had in mind. [Read more 🡒]
Paolo Banchero May Be Building The Next Step Magic Fans Need
Paolo Banchero spent his offseason working on the parts of his game that can change the shape of the Magics attack, with a clear emphasis on shot creation, shotmaking and finishing. The work has included sessions with Kevin Durant, a useful sign for a young scorer trying to sharpen the details that separate a good offensive engine from a great one.
Orlando also enters the season with a new head coach in Sean Sweeney, and that matters because Bancheros next leap is likely to come not just from more skill work, but from better usage. He wants to become more efficient and more complete, and the Magic have a fresh voice in place to help optimize the role around him as he looks to take a significant step forward. [Read more 🡒]