NBA Power Rankings: Magic Making The Jump?

The Magic has pretty low expectations going into the season.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 12, 2022

NBA Power Rankings: Magic Making The Jump? /

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is coming into the season hoping it doesn't end as poorly as the previous one did.

With a 22-60 record last season, the Magic ended up with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. But Orlando's only way is up.

NBA insider Marc Stein agrees, placing the Magic at the No. 25 slot in his most recent power rankings. Stein ranks the Magic ahead of the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.

"The Magic supplied a significant amount of intrigue on draft night with their selection of Paolo Banchero, after they were widely expected to select Jabari Smith Jr., and Banchero's presence should make the Magic, like Detroit, more watchable than their win total suggests," Stein said.

Stein is also really bullish about the development of Franz Wagner, who has looked like one of the league's rising stars in this year's EuroBasket tournament.

"Ditto for Franz Wagner, who had such a promising rookie season and has been flashing further potential on EuroBasket duty with Germany," Stein writes. "We are running out of room here, actually, to talk about everyone vying for frontcourt minutes in the Magic Kingdom; what no one can tell you at this juncture is how Jalen Suggs and the rest of the guards on the roster will develop."

The guard rotation may have several question marks still, but given the fact that there are multiple paths to success from Jalen Suggs to Cole Anthony to Markelle Fultz to the inevitable high pick Orlando will receive in the future, one of these projects will pan out the way Orlando intends it to.

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Published Sep 12, 2022

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.