'Underrated' Magic Eyes Big Surprise This Season
While few changes have characterized the Orlando Magic's offseason, the team finds itself in a spot that many young teams are in ... a spot where they are not yet competitive, but their future lies in the hands of the development of their young stars.
The Magic can go as far as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner take the team this season. It all relies on their improvement from last year.
Bleacher Report lists the Magic among the league's most underrated teams.
Orlando Magic teammates Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. celebrate.
"The Orlando Magic are one of the younger teams in the league, but just sorting everyone by average age doesn't quite illustrate that," Bleacher Report writes.
While their average age may be one of the lowest in the league, their young players bring a surprising amount of experience in big games. Banchero and Wagner are heading into just their second and third seasons in the league, respectively, but their experiences at the FIBA World Cup this summer gave them vital experience in leading a team.
Outside of their two stars, Wendell Carter Jr. looks to improve off a career-high season scoring average while Markelle Fultz comes off his first mostly-healthy season since 2019-2020. This past year, the former first overall pick averaged career-highs of 14.0 points per game and 5.7 assists per game in 29.6 minutes per game.
Due to the swift improvement shown by its players so far, it is safe to bet that the Magic's young core will only get better, giving them a true chance to enter contention for a playoff spot this season.
