Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has Paolo Banchero pointed toward the top half of the East.
Improvement in the NBA isn’t linear, which might come as a relief to teams vying with the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference. Over the past three seasons, Orlando improved from 22 victories to 34, then to 47 to land the East’s fifth seed last spring.
Boosting their total by 12, then 13? Anyone who remembers series questions from the SAT might project the Magic to add 14 in 2024-25, which would mean a 61-21 record. Whoa. That would have ranked second last season only to eventual champion Celtics.
That seems like a heavy lift in a conference that has talent, depth and teams poised to win sooner rather than later, from Boston, Philadelphia and Milwaukee to New York, Indiana and Cleveland. Still, Orlando feels ready for its next step.
“We’re not choosing mediocrity,” coach Jamahl Mosley told NBA.com recently at the National Basketball Coaches Association meetings in Chicago. And during a recent podcast, Hall of Famer Paul Pierce said Orlando “is going to be a problem” in the East.
Mosley, 45, is about to begin his fourth season as Magic coach. He has shepherded the team’s rebuilding since 2021, when he was hired after 15 years as in Dallas, Cleveland and Denver. After last spring’s 47-35 finish, Mosley finished second in NBA Coach of the Year balloting to the Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, and more than a few insiders believe Orlando is on a similar arc as OKC.
NBA.com: What is your team’s takeaway from last season and the Game 7 loss to Cleveland in the first round?
Mosley: That experience in the playoffs was a big piece for us. Guys understanding what that felt like and what it takes. The atmosphere, the energy. Then us getting KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], signing Cory Joseph [as veteran free agents]. The work that Paolo [Banchero] has put in this summer is on a different level. I believe that what Franz and Mo [Wagner] did in the Olympics, their ability to play at that level is going to help out.
That’s how teams get better. Your young guys work to get better over the summer and then you add a piece of experience.
What does KCP’s winning pedigree bring to your mostly young roster?
He has championship basketball in his DNA. He won a championship with Denver. He won one with the Lakers. So just understanding exactly what it takes to win. It’s going to be different on different nights, and he can help a group that wants to make a big push see that. It’s not always going to be the same, but it’s about the team. It’s about how we can lead each other. He sees that.
The other part is his defense. Knowing that you win big by playing defense.
Check out this smothering defense from the Orlando Magic during the 2023-24 NBA season.
The Magic improved from 26th to 22nd last season in offensive rating but shot up from 18th to third defensively. And you’re considered a big team, able to use four starters who are 6-foot-10 or taller. Why is that still an advantage in this perimeter-oriented era?
You hope to take advantage of what you have and our advantage is our size. We can size up or size down, and if we happen to size down, we’re still bigger than most teams.
It helps having Franz Wagner as a 6-foot-10 wing and Paolo Banchero capable of playing either forward spot at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds. Then you’ve got guard Jalen Suggs, who bangs around at 6-foot-5 like the football player he used to be.
Yet we still have the versatility of being just as quick when we size down. We have a ton of high basketball IQs on our team, which helps in that way as well.
Banchero already has been Rookie of the Year and an All-Star, and he won’t turn 22 until the third week of this season. What’s next for him?
You talk about a young man who’s ready to take that next big step in leading his team. This is who Paolo is. This is who he’s been taught to be and I think he embraces that. He worked his tail off tirelessly this summer. His knowledge of the game, his feel for the team, wanting to win together. He’s going to find a way to win one way or another.
Franz Wagner signed a five-year, $224 million contract extension in July and Banchero is said to be next. What role do contracts like that play in the development of a contender?
What I’ve always said is, “You got the contract for being who you are. That’s the ultimate sign of respect. … Now, put the contract put of your mind. We are happy with what you’ve done, we know your work ethic, your ability to be a great teammate, the way you play. The contract reflects that. But you don’t need to think about the contract anymore. Just think about being yourself and add to your game.”
If your team is going to get where you and the fans want it to go, it’s going to have to start by winning the battle for Florida. When you think of the Miami Heat, how much of a measuring stick is their success*?
*In its 35 NBA seasons, Orlando has finished with a better record than Miami only 12 times, and just twice in the past 14 years. But the Magic won 47 to the Heat’s 46 in 2023-24.
There’s always going to be competition. But as you get into this, you have to focus on your own team as much as possible. Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra] has done a tremendous job, and Pat [Riley], with that team. The culture. What they’ve built over the years. And they’ve been in it – whether it’s getting to the Finals, the East finals – almost every year. That’s something we can model, that consistency.
That’s what we talk about with our guys. The ability to be consistent, to keep moving and then take steps forward. That’s just focusing on us and the things we need to do. And when we do see them and are matched up, you want to make sure you take care of home each time you touch the floor.
How important do you consider the regular season, when making noise in the playoffs is becoming such a goal?
We know now how important each game is. It’s the difference between playing a Game 7 at home or on the road [the Cavs and Magic each went 3-0 at home before the clincher in Cleveland]. That’s the priority we have to think about each night. One game in January can sway what happens at the end of the season. The guys understand that a little more now.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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