Orlando Magic: Best Young NBA Core?

The Orlando Magic is one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
Orlando Magic: Best Young NBA Core?
Orlando Magic: Best Young NBA Core? /

ORLANDO - With all but three players under the age of 25, the Orlando Magic boast one of the youngest teams in the NBA.

To put things in perspective, this year's second-round pick Caleb Houstan, was born five months before LeBron James was drafted in 2003.

Youth brings upon the idea of potential, which makes Orlando an extremely intriguing team heading into next season. But how good can this young core be?

With No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and last year's lottery picks Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner looking to improve, Orlando has the opportunity to win a lot of games with this core someday. While that day may not come this season, development for this group will be key this season.

According to Bleacher Report, the Magic have the 10th best young core in the NBA.

"The Orlando Magic's youth brigade hasn't achieved anything yet, but it makes up for that in volume," Bleacher Report writes. "Odds are, one or two of the players listed outside the core three will join Banchero, [Wendell] Carter and Wagner. If that happens, we'll probably need to move the Magic up a few spots in our next set of rankings."

The Magic rank behind the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets.

Most of the teams above the Magic are currently succeeding and contending while also maintaining a young core that will preserve their success long-term. That's ultimately where the Magic want to be, but in order to climb up the ladder, the team has to add an accomplishment or two really soon.


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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.