3 Things the Orlando Magic Can Be Thankful For This Holiday Season

Through 20 games this season, from a wrecking-ball defense to the emergence of another star, all while being unbeatable at home, the Orlando Magic have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley against the Charlotte Hornets during the second quarter at Kia Center. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – This time of year, the holiday season is an opportunity to come together with loved ones and reflect on the year that was.

For the Orlando Magic, Thanksgiving also roughly marks the quarter pole of the 2024-25 NBA season. Twenty games have come and gone, leaving a sizable enough sample to assess this team.

The Magic, at 13-7, sit third in the Eastern Conference. And they have done it for the most part without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero.

A torn right oblique muscle has turned the Magic's leading scorer into another assistant coach for the past month. On Wednesday, he was seen stretching for the first time since the injury occurred, meaning he's still a ways from basketball action.

The Magic lost their first four games — three of them badly — without their young star. And then they discovered a new rhythm, winning 10 of of their next 11.

In the spirit of the holiday, as the Magic prepare for a five-game road trip in the Northeast, here are three things Orlando can be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

The Kia Center

Orlando Magic drum corps perform during the second quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

You'd lose yourself trying to keep track of how often Magic players discuss the importance of home court. Go back to their first taste of playoff experience last spring. The Magic won every game at the Kia Center but couldn't break through in Cleveland.

So far this season, the winning has continued in downtown Orlando. The Magic improved to 9-0 at home on Wednesday night with a 133-119 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Magic stand as the NBA's last unbeaten team at home.

Losing at home? Never heard of her https://t.co/1ZyXsADTkS pic.twitter.com/EoLHxnJEoT

— Magic on FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN_Magic) November 28, 2024

"This building, these fans, I think they're incredible," Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said Wednesday night. "We have some of the best fans in the NBA, like there's just a different energy level. These guys are fueled by that, just the energy of this crowd, this group, this community, the support that we have on a nightly basis here is just absolutely fantastic."

"We said it last year, we set the standard for what we want to do in this building," guard Jalen Suggs said. "Whenever we're here, we come home and take care of business. We know the power of playing at home. Especially after [the] last playoff series and what we saw there. We don't want to leave anything up to chance anymore for us not to have home-court advantage. So coming into this year, it [was] a big emphasis.

"We talked about it [at] training camp. We talked about it almost every other day as the season has gone and I think it shows. I mean, a lot of credit to everybody on the team that we've come out and executed that to a T. It's been amazing, and yeah, we just keep on riding this wave, keep riding the energy that the Kia Center brings, and hopefully we stay there."

The numbers behind the results reinforce Orlando's status as the league's best team at home:

• #1 point differential (+15.4)
• #1 net rating (16.4)
• #1 defensive rating (100.6)
• #6 offensive rating (117.0)
• Best record (9-0)

The Magic are far removed from 20-win seasons and having its arena taken over by the opposing team's fans. And they have earned the right to revel in the advantages it brings.

A game-wrecking defense

Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) defends Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) during the second quarter at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Magic's defense has been one of the NBA's best for two seasons now.

The unit ranks third in the NBA with a 105.1 defensive rating, but no team is allowing fewer points per game. Watch them work, and it's easy to see why they are so good.

They have multiple all-world defenders, from the starting backcourt of Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Franz Wagner on the perimeter to Anthony Black and Jonathan Isaac off the bench. Goga Bitadze is a dual-threat rim-protector and rebounder, and virtually everyone on the floor has a defensive DNA embedded in their game.

Positional size at all five spots on the floor allow the Magic to switch 1-through-5 with multiple lineup combinations. Your ticket to playing time in Mosley's rotation starts and ends with a defensive evaluation, partly because some of Orlando's best offense derives from its defense.

The Magic defense averages:

• 16.8 opponent turnovers/game (3rd)
• 15.9 stocks/game (steals + blocks)
• 73.4 defensive rebounding percentage (3rd)
• 43.0 points in the paint (2nd)
• 52.8 opponent eFG% (6th)

Defense has become the Magic's formula for victory, especially given the below-average performances of their offense. Creating turnovers and limiting opponents to one shot makes room for the offense to knock down enough shots to win.

Orlando's offense is 27th in points per game this year, which is in the same company as some of the league's worst teams:

• 4-15 New Orleans (103.5 ppg, 30th)
• 3-14 Philadelphia (104.8 ppg, 29th)
• 7-12 Portland (105.6 ppg, 28th)
• 13-7 Orlando (107.7 ppg, 27th)
• 2-15 Washington (107.8 ppg, 26th)
• 6-12 Charlotte (108.2 ppg, 25th)

Whether or not the Magic can use Wednesday night's 133-point wipeout of Chicago as a launching pad remains to be seen.

But the Magic defense travels. And any night, against any opponent, it can carry more than enough weight towards a victory.

Franz Wagner's emergence

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) goes to the basket during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The morning after learning that their All-Star and leading scorer would be unavailable for weeks, a weird mood hung over the team shootaround.

"It's extremely tough," Mosley said that morning. "It sucks. There's no other way to put it."

The Magic lost the remaining four games on the trip. Since that trip's conclusion, however, the Magic have won 10 of 11 games with a new star rising to lead them: Franz Wagner. The fourth-year Michigan man has elevated his play to a near-certain All-Star level.

In November, Wagner has averaged:

• 25.1 points
• 5.8 rebounds
• 6.4 assists
• 45.7 FG%
• 33.3 3PT%

He has been nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Week four times in the season's first five weeks, winning once.

The Magic front office faced scrutiny when Wagner was awarded a rookie max contract extension with zero hesitation this summer. A recent ESPN insider report said that Orlando's deal with Wagner "raised eyebrows" with some rival GMs who complained that Wagner's new deal "inflated" the market.

From 30-point performances to game-winners, all Wagner's play has done is prove the front office right to give him the rich new contract.

"I kind of assume that he's going to do that, and I don't really care how many 30-balls he drops because it's just so normal now," Franz's brother Moe Wagner said after the Magic's Nov. 15 win over Philadelphia. "He has a different demeanor about himself. ... He's kind of stepped up here ... with Paolo out and you can see it in his day-to-day life. He's super locked in."

"He is elite. He is elite," Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu said Wednesday night. "We were in the same draft class. We had a lot of battles. Him at Michigan ... me at Illinois. He has gotten better each time. His size ... ability to play pick-and-roll, and finish with his left. He's elite."

"He's just such a competitor," Mosley said. "He's gonna do whatever it takes, whatever is necessary to try to put this team on his back and figure out a way to get a win. He continues to play the right way and I think that's so important. We ask him to be aggressive, make the right plays, and he's trying to do that. That's what we have to continue to ask from him every night."

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

• MAGIC GIVE BACK THIS THANKSGIVING: See how the Magic organization gave back to Central Florida's less fortunate this holiday. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC-BULLS RECAP: The Orlando Magic scored a season-high 133 points — led by Jalen Suggs' career-high 31 — to improve their record to 13-7 and stay perfect at home. CLICK HERE
• COLE ANTHONY STAYED READY: Cole Anthony "kept his head down and waited for the opportunity," Jonathan Isaac said, and the fifth-year guard delivered the winning spark that the Magic needed Monday night vs. Charlotte. CLICK HERE
• FRANZ HAS 'GOTTA BE' AN ALL-STAR, SHAMS SAYS: Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner has been turning heads and forcing people to take notice of his recent performances. Now, ESPN's Shams Charania says he should be an All-Star lock. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC-KNICKS BACK ON NATIONAL TV: The NBA and TNT reversed a decision made less than two weeks ago to take the Magic-Knicks Dec. 3 game off of national TV, announcing Sunday that TNT would again pick up the exclusive broadcast. CLICK HERE
• COLUMN: WAGNER WORTH EVERY PENNY: The Orlando Magic met equal parts praise and skepticism when they gave Franz Wagner a $224-million max rookie extension. Fifteen games into the season, Wagner's on an All-Star trajectory. CLICK HERE
• COULD BANCHERO RETURN BY CHRISTMAS?: Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero told ESPN's Marc Spears that he feels he could be back by Christmas from a torn right oblique muscle. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC'S 2024-25 SCHEDULE: See the complete slate for the Orlando Magic in 2024-25 and all the details – dates, locations, TV, tip times, and more – that you need to know. CLICK HERE

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