Why Magic Should Expect More from Desmond Bane This Season

Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane is in his second season with the team and his role could look a bit different this time around.

A head coaching change always brings new energy, but Bane is viewed as someone in the prime of his career and a top contributor for a team eyeing the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Bane's experience in the league and his hard work off the court makes him one of the most important players on the roster.

"Well, we're all still learning the league, you know, and any young team, you want to make sure that it starts and goes back to those fundamentals and those habits, making sure that we do a good job with them," Magic head coach Sean Sweeney said.

"But I think as the leadership piece comes, you know, you don't get to think and talk your way into acting. You have to act your way into talking and being able to use your voice. And when you talk about Dez, you know the proof is in the pudding. He backs up. What he says, he does. I think that goes for every guy on our team. We want a team full of leaders, and we want to lead by our actions and that our voices resonate."

Desmond Bane's Role with the Magic

Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane poses for a picture during media day at AdventHealth Training Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Going into his first season with the Magic, Bane had to adjust a lot both on and off the court. Now he's much more familiar and comfortable with Orlando and his teammates, which should give him more of an opportunity to establish his leadership within the group.

Bane hopes that he can lead by example, and that is the way the Magic can move forward together.

"I think that it's an incredible, you know, thing to hear from a guy like that who's been around so many players, but you know, the things that I was talking about, like today, like it really speaks to that," Bane said. "Like, you don't become a leader by saying, "I'm the leader," or "I'm going to be a leader." You know, it comes by the way you approach the game and the way it's to work."

As a high school player, Bane was not someone who was recruited very heavily. He didn't receive a Division 1 offer until he was a senior, and he only received a scholarship from Furman University. Ultimately, Bane forwent that offer to attend TCU, where he spent four years.

It took Bane a while to get on NBA radars during college, but eventually he stepped up during his senior year, averaging 16.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Horn Frogs. That has carried over into his NBA career, where he has slowly built a reputation for himself. His work has spoken for itself, and that attitude can be infectious for a team that is hungry to take that next step.

If the Magic can follow Bane's example, it could be what the Magic need to get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

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