Since the 2020-21 NBA season, the Orlando Magic have seen their win total improve season after season.
After starting with 21 wins in the aforementioned season, the Magic improved by just one win a season later — albeit with 10 additional games on the schedule following the shortened season after a delayed start due to COVID. It was the first season under head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will oversee his fourth season on the Magic bench starting this fall.
The real improvement came the following season, thanks in part to a sophomore season from Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, as well as the arrival of Paolo Banchero after his draft pick the previous offseason. Orlando improved from 22 wins to 34 between 2022 and 2023, and another 13 wins were achieved by the end of the 2024 season. That year-over-year improvement was enough to put the Magic in the playoff race, and they have taken steps aimed at staying in that conversation heading into their next year on the court.
Yet with their opponents also improving and returning to full health in 2024-25, do the Magic have another record-breaking improvement in store this season?
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey thinks so, as the Magic are expected to see a slight increase in win totals in 2024-25, as revealed in BR’s annual report. prediction of wins and losses for each team in the league.
Bailey predicted the Magic would finish the season with a 48-34 record, which would put them in sixth place in the East, in line with other teams’ projections – behind:
- Boston (56-26)
- Philadelphia (52-30)
- Milwaukee (51-31)
- New York (49-33)
- Cleveland (49-33)
- Orlando (48-34)
As in Houston, it’s hard to imagine the Orlando Magic doing anything but improving.
Their two best players, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, are 22 and 21, respectively. Both have power forward size and legitimate wing play. They can create for themselves and others, get to the basket and have shown flashes of outside shooting ability.
If both teams go well, Orlando could be in danger of reaching 50 wins.
But even if there are still some growing pains (the most likely scenario), there is enough talent on the rest of this team for the Magic to return to the playoffs.
Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac are two of the best defenders in the league. Wendell Carter Jr. is a solid defensive stalwart with some outside shooting ability. Cole Anthony is a good heat-check scorer. And KCP was a near-perfect addition as a veteran who will take on tough assignments and space the floor without demanding much time on the ball.
– Andy Bailey, Bleacher Report
Vegas bookmakers have the Magic’s over/under at 47.5 heading into the season, with odds of +4000 or more (depending on the bookmaker) to win the 2025 NBA Finals. In a league full of parity, bookmakers still believe the Magic have a mountain to climb to be considered one of the league’s best teams.
