NBA Analysts Put Magic's Paolo Banchero In Rare Company This Season

The Orlando Magic have championship aspirations, not just within the organization, but from media outlets. The team's President of Basketball Operations, Jeff Weltman, mentioned this offseason as a "win-now" phase after the end of last season. The acquisition of Desmond Bane, along with other moves, speaks volumes in the franchise's commitment to compete for a championship.

In a recent episode from the "Kevin O'Connor Show" from Yahoo Sports, featuring Slightly Biased, grabbed takes from fans and ranked them from slightly biased, spot on, or so wrong. They covered a bunch of different teams and players, including the Magic and young superstar Paolo Banchero.

The full take was "if everything breaks right for Orlando, Paolo Banchero is going to be in the top five for MVP."

P5 Finishes Top 5 For MVP 🫡

“If the Magic end up being the 3 seed, which is 100% possible, Paolo could finish Top 5 in MVP”

The Magic are gonna be a fun team, I’m surprised there’s no nationally televised games announced for this young, fun, star filled team…if I’m a Magic… https://t.co/klxHe8JGYS pic.twitter.com/S6WuAzxYuK
— Huncho Hoops (@HunchoHoops) August 12, 2025

The initial reaction was that the take was "spot on" by Biased. He compared the Magic and Banchero to the Detroit Pistons and All-Star guard Cade Cunningham in terms of needing shooters to surround them to operate better.

"You go and get Desmond Bane, making a real effort to space the floor," he said. "Similar to what you saw from Cade last year, you'll probably see that from Paolo. If the Magic end up being the three-seed, which is 100 percent possible, Paolo will be at the forefront of that."

The Magic are viewed as frontrunners in the Eastern Conference, given the rise of stardom in Banchero and Franz Wagner, along with their spectacular defense from last season carrying over, and new leaps from players such as Anthony Black and Tristan Da Silva. They have one of the most complete rosters in the entire league for championship contention.

However, O'Connor felt a bit different about the take, viewing it as "slightly biased," but "wouldn't rule it out."

"I do feel like it's banking too much on a full season of what he did in the playoffs," he said. "Banchero was unbelievable; he showed everything you would want in a young star, but asking him to do that over the full season is a bit much."

The Magic are poised for a breakout season and finish among the best in the league. They recently announced the team will play an exhibition game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, against the Miami Heat, along with two games overseas against the Memphis Grizzlies in Germany and London. The Magic were left out of the Christmas Day schedule, which is a big case of snubbery.

Team success often plays a role in MVP voting, while there is no solidified criterion in how the media goes about it. Banchero is emerging as one of the best two-way players in the league and the Magic will go as far as he takes them. If the All-Star wing has a chance to finish top five for the award, the team will need to help elevate his case.

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