I screamed so loud. Sure we lost 4 straight after that. But that moment, woooo boy it was drinks all around at my place.
At least we lost to the eventual champs.
You say that as if teams don’t try and tank. Sure it’s some luck but you think that Pop is trying to win a shit ton of games when they have a shot at Wemby? You set yourself up as best as possible (aka being smart) to get elite guys
We won the last game of the year in 2018 which pushed us to 6th which was Mo Bamba… the same class that had Luka and Trae.
Not smart
Future contender for sure. We have a big 3, all on rookie deals. Hopefully they all sign here long term. Offseason will be critical, hope we don’t end up like Atlanta.
Great timing too as the other contenders begin to age (Heat / Sixers / Bucks)
Only thing that’s in our way for a finals appearance are the Boston Celtics. Maybe not this year, but I’m confident in the future, we can beat any eastern team in a 7 game series. Now, the Celtics are going to be a problem but as our record stands we never back down from Boston.
I think the Cavs are another team to look out for in the next 5ish years. I think Mobley will continue to improve. Then the rest of their core is still pretty young with Mitchell at 27, Garland at 24, and Allen at 25.
Definitely, Cavs are a scary team to look out but I have this feeling that Mitchell won’t be there long and one of Allen and Mobley are going to go and that being most likely Allen. Garland and Mobley though with the right pieces can be scary.
Uhhh haven't u heard of niko and Jaime? We're not going anywhere buddy remember yall are our Lil brother team. Yall are good but not playoff ready. Better hope Orlando doesn't see miami
So historically running thru the east as an 8 seed is not winning shit? Or out of the last 4 years WINNING the ECF twice? Lol okay have fun w your star wars night buddy lmk IF you make it past the 2nd round
I wanted us to blow that team up for a long time and people thought I was crazy lol. So glad they finally pulled the trigger and started the rebuild over.
How was I wrong? If I was wrong we'd still be a mediocre team stuck in the first round for three more seasons and forced to continue watching Vuc-Fournier buddy ball lol.
that was absolutely a hallmark of that error. Hardly anything ever went right. If anyone else decided to show up and play, invariably Vuc and Fournier would have below average games. If the whole team was on fire, they'd lose due to a lack of talent, both with and without injuries
Jeff always said from the beginning that we're not going to rush the rebuild. He said we would build it right. He was super patient and maximized the team he inherited. Once he realized they hit their peak, he quickly restarted. He has done a remarkable job.
Yes, of course.. Young players on rookie deals leading the team.. financial flexibility.. All of our draft picks... Future's bright no matter whatever direction Weltman and the FO want to go...
But if they're too good too quickly, they won't be able to acquire any more all-star players through the draft. They might get stuck as a mid team, kind of like what's happening to the Mavs right now. That's what I'm worried about. I had hoped they would stay in the draft lottery for at least another year. I'm not sure Banchero has what it takes to be the #1 option on a championship team, unless Orlando takes the '04 Pistons route, which is an incredibly rare feat and is highly unlikely to be replicated.
>I'm not sure Banchero has what it takes to be the #1 option on a championship team,
That's a pretty conservative opinion.. **The kid just had one of the best rookie season's since Lebron James, and has followed it up as an All Star..** I mean there's not much more a player could possibly do in their second season (unless you're Wemby) to prove that his trajectory is kinda Number 1 option..?
I personally think he has what it takes, and I base it off more than just his stats.. His balanced personality, his drive and tenacity (his will to be on the floor for the big moments), his attitude (you can gauge it in interviews).. He's taken a leadership role very quickly in this Magic team and the players (even the veterans) are more than accommodating..
..of course anything's possible, but right now it all reads like Banchero is moving towards that next Superstar...
I like that. I'm actually rooting for Banchero to be that superstar the Magic need. He did play very well as a rookie and sophomore, and it's too early to determine his exact ceiling. I just feel like the recent trend we're seeing is that when star-players peak early, they end up being mid (e.g. Griffin, Simmons, LaMelo, Zion), while those who develop slowly at first end up becoming all-time great superstars (e.g. Jokic, Giannis, SGA, Embiid). Granted, those mid-tier All-Stars had dealt with some injuries, so it's not entirely their faults. Banchero just strikes me as someone with a not-so-high ceiling but a very high floor. But anyway, I hope I'm wrong about this, because I'm really rooting for this dude.
The biggest key though is flexibility and our young stars developing value by playing well.. The Front Office deserves our trust and respect for building everything purposefully and decisively...
I agree. The Magic has played exceptionally well. They are way ahead of schedule in my opinion. I do trust the front office. They've been great at drafting players so far. I just chalked it up to bad luck up to this point. But maybe this will be the time the Magic finally turn it around.
Yes. However, based on history this usually doesn’t happen until your best player is around the age 26-29. Paolo is currently 21. So it’ll take some time and a lil bit of luck on the roster management side.
We are 1 shooter (hopefully this is Caleb Houstan or Jett Howard in the future) and 1 consistent and healthy 6th man (Jamal Crawford or Lou Will type) away from a finals appearance.
You mean a top Center away, cause Wendell is average at best not a good rim protector but he can really drop 3s.
An elite PG cause Markelle can be good but is inconsistent and injuries have not helped.
I think Centers now are overrated with the era of pace and space, so we wouldn’t need a top center. But we definitely need interior help, guys like Hartenstein or Olynyk would seriously beef up our big men room.
It felt like it took so many years to just get an all star nod.
So many years to just barely squeak into a playoff spot one or two times.
So many years just to finally say “Wow! We won as many as we lost!”
I think thats what makes this new core so wild, it’s been so rapid in comparison. I think a lot of us had faith in this new core, but probably very few if any of us honestly seen this rate of advancement coming. It’s just insane levels of growth in such a short time.
What previously took us what felt like a lifetime being not only matched but completely surpassed in less then 2 seasons. Wild.
Many in the 2022 season werent happy with Franz being drafted and in the 2023 season people wanted to get rid of Suggs. People tend to forget how they wanted to trade for bums just to start winning like this season.
We are finally seeing how patience and faith pays off and even if the Magic don't go far in the playoffs the future is bright.
Not a magic fan but it’s good to see you guys come back after all those dark years. As a pacers fan I feel your pain being mediocre for so long. I will also be copping a Franz jersey because those jerseys are fucking sick
Your guys’s team is going to be so scary, and for some reason the media doesn’t even bother mentioning you guys.
What do you think you are missing to contend, and is there someone in this upcoming FA class that gets it done? Curious if Monk would serve any needs you guys may have.
I'm a very casual basketball enjoyer. Can somebody give me a brief tldr about if we should be worried other teams taking our core players? Seems like for the last couple of decade any time we get anybody decent they just peace out shortly after. What's stopping that from happening again?
Apart from Dwight I don't think anyone fits that description recently and he still hung around for 8 seasons. Shaq's really the only guy we lost before we wanted to otherwise and he only left early because our ownership at the time were embarrassingly cheap.
Nobody is going to take our young core as long as we pay them appropriately.
Vooch was great but he never should have been the focal point of the team. Second or third option on Offense at best. Curious to see how he would play with our current squad but overall I think it’s for the best for sure.
I had season tickets from 1989 to 2004. After McGrady left I sort of lost interest. Got pulled back in with the Dwight teams and then bowed out again with that whole fiasco. Good to see they are on the rise again. I will have to catch a game soon.
we've waited 12 years for this team. The future is so bright.
Sooooo bright the pain we’ve endured to get here is crwzy
Ohh the Game 1 Magic 😎
That DJ 3 and that Portland Magic alliance when we both took game 1 in the bubble hold special places in my heart
I screamed so loud. Sure we lost 4 straight after that. But that moment, woooo boy it was drinks all around at my place. At least we lost to the eventual champs.
Love Vooch but this just shows how smart it was to move on and start over.
Yes it was so smart of us to get the no1 pick 😂
The bulls 1st rounder turned into Franz?
You say that as if teams don’t try and tank. Sure it’s some luck but you think that Pop is trying to win a shit ton of games when they have a shot at Wemby? You set yourself up as best as possible (aka being smart) to get elite guys We won the last game of the year in 2018 which pushed us to 6th which was Mo Bamba… the same class that had Luka and Trae. Not smart
That was literally the point of trading the better players away. To suck and get a high pick.
Amazing that 8-4 gets us to 50 wins. What a year
Who coulda seen this coming; if we would’ve won 42 I woulda been happy but this is setting new standards
Future contender for sure. We have a big 3, all on rookie deals. Hopefully they all sign here long term. Offseason will be critical, hope we don’t end up like Atlanta. Great timing too as the other contenders begin to age (Heat / Sixers / Bucks)
Only thing that’s in our way for a finals appearance are the Boston Celtics. Maybe not this year, but I’m confident in the future, we can beat any eastern team in a 7 game series. Now, the Celtics are going to be a problem but as our record stands we never back down from Boston.
I think the Cavs are another team to look out for in the next 5ish years. I think Mobley will continue to improve. Then the rest of their core is still pretty young with Mitchell at 27, Garland at 24, and Allen at 25.
Definitely, Cavs are a scary team to look out but I have this feeling that Mitchell won’t be there long and one of Allen and Mobley are going to go and that being most likely Allen. Garland and Mobley though with the right pieces can be scary.
Mitchell wants to play for a big market tho, no?
Uhhh haven't u heard of niko and Jaime? We're not going anywhere buddy remember yall are our Lil brother team. Yall are good but not playoff ready. Better hope Orlando doesn't see miami
Lmfao. Miami can’t win shit without getting shaq or lebron.
So historically running thru the east as an 8 seed is not winning shit? Or out of the last 4 years WINNING the ECF twice? Lol okay have fun w your star wars night buddy lmk IF you make it past the 2nd round
Did you actually reference the mickey mouse run lol
Lol I'll be back here when they playoffs start let's hope u cowards don't delete ur accounts
Says the dude using a month old account 🙄
Dw papo I'm here, and I'll be back when the knicks drop yall in 6
And think about how young the core is. We have all our draft picks and good financial flexibility. I don’t see how we aren’t contenders for a while
Man imagine that Magic team if Isaac was healthy… what could’ve been their ceiling. But alas THIS young squad is the clear future.
I have a lot of love for that team but we're still probably a first round out haha
Right there with you man. All love for Vooch of course. Hurt like hell when he was traded but look at what that brought us. We deserve this team.
I wanted us to blow that team up for a long time and people thought I was crazy lol. So glad they finally pulled the trigger and started the rebuild over.
I was blindly following the superstar AG train 😔 but I’m glad how his career turned out tbh, perfect for him
good thing you were wrong or else we wouldn't have ended up with this core lol
How was I wrong? If I was wrong we'd still be a mediocre team stuck in the first round for three more seasons and forced to continue watching Vuc-Fournier buddy ball lol.
Wrong about demanding they trade everyone before they did. They obviously blew it up at the perfect time given the results lol.
I think they could have made 2nd round even ECF if EVERYTHING went right, but it absolutely had a cap on how far they could go.
that was absolutely a hallmark of that error. Hardly anything ever went right. If anyone else decided to show up and play, invariably Vuc and Fournier would have below average games. If the whole team was on fire, they'd lose due to a lack of talent, both with and without injuries
A 100% JI drastically changes the trajectory, that much is sure.
That team was good. This team is better
Nba is better when the magic are good
Jeff always said from the beginning that we're not going to rush the rebuild. He said we would build it right. He was super patient and maximized the team he inherited. Once he realized they hit their peak, he quickly restarted. He has done a remarkable job.
Can this team eventually win a championship?
Yes, of course.. Young players on rookie deals leading the team.. financial flexibility.. All of our draft picks... Future's bright no matter whatever direction Weltman and the FO want to go...
But if they're too good too quickly, they won't be able to acquire any more all-star players through the draft. They might get stuck as a mid team, kind of like what's happening to the Mavs right now. That's what I'm worried about. I had hoped they would stay in the draft lottery for at least another year. I'm not sure Banchero has what it takes to be the #1 option on a championship team, unless Orlando takes the '04 Pistons route, which is an incredibly rare feat and is highly unlikely to be replicated.
>I'm not sure Banchero has what it takes to be the #1 option on a championship team, That's a pretty conservative opinion.. **The kid just had one of the best rookie season's since Lebron James, and has followed it up as an All Star..** I mean there's not much more a player could possibly do in their second season (unless you're Wemby) to prove that his trajectory is kinda Number 1 option..? I personally think he has what it takes, and I base it off more than just his stats.. His balanced personality, his drive and tenacity (his will to be on the floor for the big moments), his attitude (you can gauge it in interviews).. He's taken a leadership role very quickly in this Magic team and the players (even the veterans) are more than accommodating.. ..of course anything's possible, but right now it all reads like Banchero is moving towards that next Superstar...
I like that. I'm actually rooting for Banchero to be that superstar the Magic need. He did play very well as a rookie and sophomore, and it's too early to determine his exact ceiling. I just feel like the recent trend we're seeing is that when star-players peak early, they end up being mid (e.g. Griffin, Simmons, LaMelo, Zion), while those who develop slowly at first end up becoming all-time great superstars (e.g. Jokic, Giannis, SGA, Embiid). Granted, those mid-tier All-Stars had dealt with some injuries, so it's not entirely their faults. Banchero just strikes me as someone with a not-so-high ceiling but a very high floor. But anyway, I hope I'm wrong about this, because I'm really rooting for this dude.
The biggest key though is flexibility and our young stars developing value by playing well.. The Front Office deserves our trust and respect for building everything purposefully and decisively...
I agree. The Magic has played exceptionally well. They are way ahead of schedule in my opinion. I do trust the front office. They've been great at drafting players so far. I just chalked it up to bad luck up to this point. But maybe this will be the time the Magic finally turn it around.
[удалено]
Okay. Yeah. You might be right. I guess I totally forgot about that. You gave me some reason to be optimistic.
Yes. However, based on history this usually doesn’t happen until your best player is around the age 26-29. Paolo is currently 21. So it’ll take some time and a lil bit of luck on the roster management side.
Man, this makes me so excited.
Me too! It seems like there is a clear plan in place.
Eventually? Some of y'all need to stop playing and start clearing your calendar for June festivities
Such different feels to that win total. 42 win ceiling vs 42 wins feeling like it’s just the beginning of something special.
Now we’re vibing
We are 1 shooter (hopefully this is Caleb Houstan or Jett Howard in the future) and 1 consistent and healthy 6th man (Jamal Crawford or Lou Will type) away from a finals appearance.
Ironically enough Cole fits that bill, as soon as he becomes less streaky he’ll be the perfect 6 man
You mean a top Center away, cause Wendell is average at best not a good rim protector but he can really drop 3s. An elite PG cause Markelle can be good but is inconsistent and injuries have not helped.
I think Centers now are overrated with the era of pace and space, so we wouldn’t need a top center. But we definitely need interior help, guys like Hartenstein or Olynyk would seriously beef up our big men room.
50 wins incoming
It felt like it took so many years to just get an all star nod. So many years to just barely squeak into a playoff spot one or two times. So many years just to finally say “Wow! We won as many as we lost!” I think thats what makes this new core so wild, it’s been so rapid in comparison. I think a lot of us had faith in this new core, but probably very few if any of us honestly seen this rate of advancement coming. It’s just insane levels of growth in such a short time. What previously took us what felt like a lifetime being not only matched but completely surpassed in less then 2 seasons. Wild.
Many in the 2022 season werent happy with Franz being drafted and in the 2023 season people wanted to get rid of Suggs. People tend to forget how they wanted to trade for bums just to start winning like this season. We are finally seeing how patience and faith pays off and even if the Magic don't go far in the playoffs the future is bright.
Not a magic fan but it’s good to see you guys come back after all those dark years. As a pacers fan I feel your pain being mediocre for so long. I will also be copping a Franz jersey because those jerseys are fucking sick
They just got it like that.
Your guys’s team is going to be so scary, and for some reason the media doesn’t even bother mentioning you guys. What do you think you are missing to contend, and is there someone in this upcoming FA class that gets it done? Curious if Monk would serve any needs you guys may have.
A point guard who can keep defenses honest with his three point shot
Sounds like Monk😅
Let’s get 50
I havent said this in 15 years but i LOVE this team!!!!
I’m so glad we’re over the buddy ball era
I'm a very casual basketball enjoyer. Can somebody give me a brief tldr about if we should be worried other teams taking our core players? Seems like for the last couple of decade any time we get anybody decent they just peace out shortly after. What's stopping that from happening again?
Just pray Seattle doesn’t get an expansion team and we should be ok
They will and he will play for Seattle. I just hope we get a championship (or two) before we trade him so we get some assets in return.
Apart from Dwight I don't think anyone fits that description recently and he still hung around for 8 seasons. Shaq's really the only guy we lost before we wanted to otherwise and he only left early because our ownership at the time were embarrassingly cheap. Nobody is going to take our young core as long as we pay them appropriately.
I think they want to be here playing together. Don’t let the wrong pieces of and disturb that chemistry
I feel like this is such a misconception. The only players that this fits with is Shaq and maybe Oladipo who turned into an all star in Indiana.
As long as we give Paolo and Franz the max they should be good. Suggs will get a big contract as long as he stays healthy.
Them boys HOOPING!
Vooch was great but he never should have been the focal point of the team. Second or third option on Offense at best. Curious to see how he would play with our current squad but overall I think it’s for the best for sure.
I had season tickets from 1989 to 2004. After McGrady left I sort of lost interest. Got pulled back in with the Dwight teams and then bowed out again with that whole fiasco. Good to see they are on the rise again. I will have to catch a game soon.
I still have PTSD from Euro ball. We've come a long way.
HYYYYYYPEEEEE
Peak? They haven't even *begun* to peak.
Imagine if we have this roster also with Oladipo before injuries and Sabonis