Orlando Magic Veteran Joe Ingles Reveals Key to Taking Next Step

Joe Ingles hopes to be the missing piece towards the Orlando Magic's playoff hopes.

Jeremy Brener | Oct 5, 2023

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic didn't make a lot of changes to its roster this offseason, but the team knew it needed a veteran to help push the young core to the next step.

Enter Joe Ingles.

Ingles, 36, has 50 playoff appearances under his belt in his nine NBA seasons, including five last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, who finished with the league's best record in the regular season before being upset in the first round of the playoffs.

As someone with experience playing on a championship-level roster, Ingles shared what he thinks the Magic needs in order to take the next step.

Joe Ingles with the Milwaukee Bucks / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

"I think it's a lot of the small details," Ingles said. "The schedule is the schedule, the travel, like they're all out there, they're the uncontrollable things that we can't dictate. But we can dictate how we show up to every game how hard we play, knowing the scale knowing who were playing."

Ingles provides much-needed veteran leadership and maturity to the roster, something the Magic needs if it wants to return to the playoffs after a four-year drought.

"I know that we wanted to try to get a guy like Joe here ... I won't even say that guy like Joe, we wanted to get Joe, because he's a unique guy," Weltman said. "And I think he'll help help us in every possible way."

While Ingles may not be a big on-court addition, his experience and maturity could do wonders for the Magic this season.

Published Oct 5, 2023

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.