How Magic should sort pecking order between Banchero, Wagner and Bane

Despite battling myriad injuries, the Orlando Magic climbed out of the bottom-third offensively last season. It still did not make for a very appealing product, but it marked a step in the right direction.

Heading into the new season, the Magic doubled down on their core -- spearheaded by Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane. What should the pecking order look like under new head coach Sean Sweeney? Our panelists answer below:

Jeremy Brener:

The beauty of the Magic's core three is that this order can be different on any given night, depending on the game. All three of these guys have the ability to drop 30 or more in a contest, as they've done many times before. This gives Orlando a lot of optionality when it comes to the offense, which is exactly what you need in today's NBA.

In terms of someone who has the highest potential, Banchero stands out above Wagner and Bane. The second spot in this order is tough between the two of them, but Wagner should resume his role as the 1B option when he's fully healthy. Wagner has the ability to take over games offensively, but we haven't been accustomed to that in nearly a year. The hope is that with a healthy offseason, he will return to the player he was for Orlando during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.

Bane pops up third on this list mainly because of what we've seen from Banchero and Wagner. In a perfect world, Bane is on the perimeter to force teams to respect his three-point shot, opening up the lane for Banchero and Wagner to work with. Bane is also someone who can create for his teammates and get his own shot, something that he was doing more last season than he normally was with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Major Passons:

In my opinion, the offense should run through Franz the most. Then that should be followed closely by Banchero. They should have the most usage by far on the Magic. Out of these three, that leaves Bane, who should be playing off of the two stars to make the biggest impact. Franz and Banchero should require extensive defensive attention; this would leave Bane open to be lethal from behind the arc and in open spaces.

May 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) dribbles the ball against the Detroit Pistons in the fourth quarter during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Matt Hanifan:

As Jeremy mentioned, the beauty of the Magic's three-headed monster is that anyone can take charge on any given night. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see much of that triumvirate together -- 24 games (excluding postseason), to be exact -- last season. There still needs to be some on-court chemistry generated between those three.

That said, there's still a clear pecking order -- with Banchero and Wagner functioning as a 1a/1b option (depending on matchup, game flow, etc.) with Bane playing off both of them. Sean Sweeney must figure out a way to optimize Banchero on-ball. Wagner has a similar -- albeit more crafty -- skill set that can be replicated when Banchero needs a breather.

Bane is arguably the Magic's most complete offensive player. He's still excellent at getting to the rim and attacking an already-bent defense. But his shooting gravity is essential alongside those two, and if Sweeney utilizes him as an off-ball mover, he becomes that much more dangerous. Thus, he's slightly behind those two as a complementary -- albeit still dangerous -- option.

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