Jalen Suggs Credits Orlando Magic's Fan Support During Win Streak
ORLANDO - Jalen Suggs is one of many players who have experienced the ups and downs of the Orlando Magic during his tenure with the team.
In his rookie season with the Magic in 2021-22, the team went 22-60, then progressed to 34-48 the following year. Now, it's full steam ahead for an Orlando team that's 13-5 and riding an eight-game winning streak after its 139-120 win over the Washington Wizards (3-15) on Wednesday at the Amway Center.
With the Magic's success has come an increase in fan support. Orlando has the fifth-largest attendance in the NBA, per Basketball Reference, as it has had 188,325 fans attend its games this season. Between the Magic's 10 home games this season, they average 18,833 fans per game at the Amways Center.
The fan support is something Suggs has known about since he was first drafted. Now, he's seeing it come to fruition with the Magic's success to begin the season.
"It's so dope," Suggs said. "And since we've gotten here, they've told us day after day, just how the city is waiting for us to put it together and to really rally behind us, and we've gone through some tough times."
Jalen Suggs had 22 points, two steals, three assists and three rebounds in Orlando's win over Washington on Wednesday.
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Suggs has been imperative to the team's success this season, as he's averaging a career-high 13 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The former No. 5 overall pick has seen the ups and downs through his two-plus seasons with the Magic. If they're going to remain among the top teams in the Eastern Conference, Suggs believes the team needs to focus on what's ahead of them and continue on the path that has gotten them to this point.
"We've seen win streaks, and we've seen losing streaks by continuing to stay the course, understand that it's a journey, take it day by day and, as you keep doing daily deposits over time, it's going to start to show, and I think it's just a combination of all the work on the court and off the court that we're doing," Suggs said.
The Magic will look to extend their win streak to nine tonight when Orlando hosts the Wizards at 7 p.m. ET.
