NBA Draft: Magic Journey from Rebuild to Fine-Tuning a Contender

Round 1 of the 2024 NBA Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET tonight. Orlando Magic President Jeff Weltman has assembled a playoff contender with successful lottery picks. Picking No. 18 overall presents a different challenge.

Nov 15, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley talks with Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the second half of a basketball game against the Chicago Bulls at United Center. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO — It took some time, but the Orlando Magic are seemingly on the other side of their rebuild and set to be a contender for some time.

President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman took over a franchise without a sense of direction in 2017. The Magic won 25 games in his first season. Consecutive playoff appearances and first-round losses followed, but the progress was short-lived and the Magic won 77 games total in the next three seasons.

Orlando hit the reset button at the 2021 trade deadline. Nikola Vučević, a center who could be counted on for a double-double, was traded in his age-30 season to the Chicago Bulls for two first-round picks and Wendell Carter Jr. That transaction laid the foundation for the Magic to become one of the NBA's best young teams.

Round 1 of the 2024 NBA Draft begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET. The Magic have the 18th overall pick, historically no sure thing.

Here's a look at Weltman's history of drafting in the first round since joining the Magic seven years ago.

2017: Jonathan Isaac

One can argue Weltman's first pick set the tone for what Orlando has become now. The Magic took Isaac with the No. 6 overall pick and, when he's healthy, he's an anchor for Orlando's elite defense.

Isaac is a versatile defender who can play multiple positions. In his first full season since 2018-19, Isaac had the second-best defensive rating among all NBA players.

2018: Mo Bamba

Mo Bamba was thought to be the Magic's center of the future when they took him with the No. 6 overall pick. Things never panned out. He started 12 games in three-plus seasons and was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers at the 2023 Trade Deadline.

2019: Chuma Okeke

Coming off its first playoff appearance since 2012, Orlando drafted the 6-foot- forward with the No. 16 overall pick despite his torn ACL suffered in that spring's NCAA Tournament. Okeke's playing time plummeted to nine minutes a game in 2023-24. He is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason.

Note: The Magic's willingness to wait on a prospect could be a foreshadowing if Nikola Topić falls to them with the No. 18 overall pick in tonight's 2024 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-7 Serbian guard suffered a partially torn ACL after spending much of the season projected as a lottery pick. Nikola's father, Milenko Topić, is a scout for the Magic.

2020: Cole Anthony

Orlando made a second straight playoff appearance, albeit with a sub-.500 record and an offense that ranked 24th in points per game. Cole Anthony, who averaged 18 points a game in his freshman season at North Carolina, was the No. 15 overall pick.

In 2023-24, Anthony was the leader of one of the NBA's best benches, which ranked fourth in points per game. Anthony was Orlando's most recent first-round draft pick from outside of the lottery.

2021: Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner

The Magic landed two cornerstones in 2021.

Suggs, the No. 5 overall pick, has established himself as the head of the snake on Orlando's defense, earning NBA All-Defensive team honors. Wagner, taken eighth overall, has become the Magic's second-best offensive player after Orlando's No. 1 overall pick in 2022.

2022: Paolo Banchero

In a draft top-heavy with potential stars and the Magic picking first, Weltman made what looks like one of the best decisions in franchise history.

Banchero won the 2023 Rookie of the Year and became an All-Star in his second season. He was the main man in a 47-win regular season. Then he turned in a playoff performance that put him in company with LeBron James and Anthony Edwards — one of three players under 22 years old to averaging 27 points and eight-plus rebounds per postseason game.

2023: Anthony Black & Jett Howard

The grade is incomplete on Anthony Black, the No. 6 overall pick, and Jett Howard, taken at No. 11.

Black started 33 games for Orlando but fell out of the rotation by the end of the season. Howard spent most of his rookie year in the G-League with the Osceola Magic.

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• FATHER-SON REUNION FOR TOPIĆ?: If Nikola Topić falls in the draft, could Orlando unite him with his father, Milenko Topić, who is a scout in its front office? CLICK HERE
• NBA MOCK DRAFTS: Who are the experts predicting the Magic to take with the No. 18 overall pick? CLICK HERE