Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero says his team can compete with anyone in the Eastern Conference.
The Magic, who reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020, are in fine form after posting a 47-35 record for their best regular-season record since 2011.
“We feel like we’re there” Banchero said Friday during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take.”” . “
“We’re on the same level as all those teams. I remember last year we started in the top three, top two, and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a qualifying team and lose the lead in the Eastern Conference. But we finished strong and got fifth, and we had a chance to really take second place at the end of the season.”
Banchero is one of the best young players in the NBA. In his second year in the league, he became an All-Star. So when he looked at the landscape in the East, he saw that his team should be in the race with teams like Boston and New York, the top two seeds in the 2024 playoffs.
“We were there last year and we got better this year, like I said. I got better, we all got better. We have some new pieces that are going to help a lot. We’re trying to make some noise. We should easily be a top-four, top-three team and have a chance to win the Eastern Conference.”
Is Banchero’s statement completely false? Maybe not.
The Magic ultimately lost in the first round to the Cleveland Cavaliers after a grueling seven-game series. The young team blew an 18-point lead in that game, an experience the Magic hopes to learn from. With an average age of 24.3, the Magic were the second-youngest team in the playoffs.
So when they had the opportunity to sign two-time NBA champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they jumped at the chance. Caldwell-Pope brings championship experience and shooting, something the Magic sorely lacked last season. Orlando ranked 26th in the league in three-point percentage and struggled to create from the perimeter in the series against Cleveland.
Additionally, NBA veteran Cory Joseph has also signed with Orlando. A champion with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, Joseph can be a valuable mentor to the team’s young guards like Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony.
Outside of free agency, Orlando re-signed several rotation players like forward Jonathan Isaac and rising star Franz Wagner. It also selected Tristan Da Silva, a 6-foot-10 forward from Colorado who should get playing time thanks to his high IQ and perimeter shooting.
How did the Magic’s offseason compare to the rest of the East?
Considering some of the moves made by other Eastern teams, Orlando’s seem marginal at best.
The Philadelphia 76ers reworked their roster in free agency, signing veterans like Paul George, Eric Gordon, Caleb Martin and Reggie Jackson, all players with deep playoff experience and, in Jackson’s case, an NBA championship.