What this Magic star is aiming to improve for next season

Last year was an incredibly frustrating season for the Orlando Magic.

They may have finished with 45 wins, the second-most since they won 52 in 2010-12, but they finished in the play-in for the second-straight year and blew a 3-1 lead to the Detroit Pistons.

The pit of their downfall was scoring a measly 79 points in Game 6 on their home floor, including just 17 in the entirety of the second half. And the player who shouldered much of that blame was Paolo Banchero, who scored just 17 points on 4-of-20 shooting in the 14-point loss.

The agonizing effort personified what was a perplexing season for the 23-year-old. In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko, Banchero disclosed what he is trying to improve heading into the new season.

And his answer was quite simple: Everything.

"Improve in all areas," Banchero said. "Field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage. Obviously just be more efficient. I feel like I can be a guy who averages 25 [points], 8 [rebounds] and 7 [assists]. I feel like that's pretty attainable for me.

"So just showing up consistently every day, not worrying about the numbers and just worrying about the process and how I'm playing to help us win. And all that will take care of itself."

Has the balance of power shifted from the Western Conference?

Paolo Banchero: “I’ve always felt like the East is the better conference,”

The Magic forward sat down with @YahooSports on Orlando’s expectations, schematic changes and more: https://t.co/hsO3JiQZ84 pic.twitter.com/IX2ibr1EQm
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) July 12, 2026

Magic need a bounce back season from Paolo Banchero:

On the surface, Banchero didn't have a bad season. The one-time All-Star averaged 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.

However, despite posting career highs in true-shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, Banchero didn't make any tangible growth as a jump shooter.

Of the 88 players who attempted at least 200 pull-up jumpers last year, Banchero's 34.0 effective field goal percentage was not only a career-low (by over five percent), but dead last in the entire association, according to NBA.com's tracking data.

Banchero's shooting efficiency has continued to be a problem throughout his career. The surrounding pieces haven't helped him out from a floor spacing perspective, and that's not expected to change heading into this season, either.

Thus, it's imperative that Banchero makes a considerable leap as a jump shooter and 3-point shooter to open up the floor for the rest of his teammates -- namely Desmond Bane and Franz Wagner, two effective slashers.

Until he figures it out -- if he ever does -- that will be his swing skill. Perhaps the hardest leap in the NBA is going from good to great. Banchero has that potential, but he must unlock his jumper, which has been shaky, at best, through four years.

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