Impact of 76ers Rival Magic Suffering Third Major Injury

Philadelphia 76ers East rival, Orlando Magic, are dealing with another injury.

Dec 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (5) and Orlando Magic forward Moritz Wagner (21) battle for a loose ball in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

As the Philadelphia 76ers are on the outside looking in at the 2025 NBA Playoff picture, they recently saw a top-four team suffer another injury blow, which could soon shake up the situation.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Magic forward Moritz Wagner has suffered a torn ACL. He will miss the remainder of the 2024-2025 NBA season.

All season long, the Magic have been dealing with major absences. Paolo Banchero is still recovering from an oblique injury and hasn’t played since October.

Orlando Magic forward Moe Wagner has suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, sources told ESPN. Wagner averaged 12.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.8 minutes as a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, ranking second in the NBA in total points off the bench. pic.twitter.com/boMTYgPxWD

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 22, 2024

When the Sixers and the Magic played each other a couple of weeks back, Franz Wagner suffered a similar injury, which is expected to take him off the court for an extended period, slowing down his All-Star-caliber run.

Moritz Wagner’s loss takes a key player off Orlando’s bench.

This season, Wagner has appeared in 30 games. Seeing the court for nearly 19 minutes per game, Wagner has averaged 13 points on 56 percent shooting from the field. He was also averaging five rebounds and one assist throughout the year.

The Magic might’ve bent over time, but certainly haven’t broken. Even without Banchero for most of the season, the Magic have been a top-four team in the Eastern Conference. They currently sit behind the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and the Cleveland Cavaliers with an 18-12 record.

With another critical player out of the lineup for now, the Magic could see a slide down the standings, shaking up the current playoff picture that the Sixers are looking in at.

Sitting in 12th place with a 9-17 record, the key teams the Sixers have to keep an eye on are the Brooklyn Nets and the Detroit Pistons. At 11-17, the Nets have been sliding and recently traded away a key player in Dennis Schroder. Brooklyn is 3-7 over their last ten games. They are one game in front of the Sixers.

Detroit currently possesses the final Play-In slot at the moment. At 12-17, the Pistons have been hot and cold lately, losing more than half of their last ten games.

The Sixers have a long way to go before they catch Orlando, but the Magic will be a team to keep an eye on as a possible slider as the rest of the season plays out.