Magic’s Season is Over

The Orlando Magic’s season is officially over.

They end the season with a record of 34-48. The Magic have not made the playoffs since the 2019-2020 season.

On Sunday, Orlando played their final regular game of the season against the Miami Heat and lost 110-123. The Magic were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday.

final pic.twitter.com/pszQrV64n7

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 9, 2023

Reflecting on the Magic’s Season

The Orlando Magic finished the season with a record of 34-48, losing their last four.

They placed 13th in the Eastern Conference standings, having better records than only the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons.

Despite having a chance to get into the play-in tournament with an opportunity to enter the playoffs, the Magic struggled in their last final games of the season. After losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-117 on Tuesday, the Magic officially lost the chance to participate in the play-in.

Potential For Young Stars

Despite the season ending without a feel for the playoffs, there were a few bright spots for the team throughout the season.

In particular, the young talent on the Magic looks to have plenty of potential. Paolo Banchero, 20, just finished his rookie season with a stat-line average of 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Banchero was selected with the first pick of last year’s draft and already leads the Magic in scoring and is favored to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. The second leading scorer for the Magic is Franz Wagner. Wagner, 21, was picked eighth in the 2021 draft and in his second season averaged 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Banchero and Wagner are both 6’10 forwards that proved their scoring prowess this season.

Orlando had four other scorers average double digits in scoring this season.  Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony and Moritz Wagner each contributed at least 10+ points on average this season and are all under the age of 26.

ROY pic.twitter.com/cxTFlQNDnO

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 9, 2023

there goes ROY pic.twitter.com/ZujX0QBDE3

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 5, 2023

Future

The Magic are an extremely young team. They are currently the fourth youngest team in the NBA, averaging an age of 23.94. Only two players in the Magic’s roster are over 27 ( Gary Harris and Michael Carter-Williams). In this year’s upcoming draft, Orlando will have two first-round picks. The Magic have the sixth-best odds of landing the No. 1 pick at nine-percent.

This year’s NBA draft will take place at the Barclays Center on June 22.