After the Orlando Magic traded away Dwight Howard ahead of the 2012-13 NBA season, they have been trying to rebuild this team into a legit contender in the Eastern Conference, but have not had much success over the years. Since drafting Howard No. 1 overall in 2004, the Magic have had 0 players that they drafted go on to be All-Stars and have found zero success year after year.
Sure, they have made the playoffs each of the last two seasons, but were heavy underdogs in each matchup and lost in the first-round 4-1 in back-to-back years. With major injury concerns on this roster and an overall lack of talent, the Orlando Magic have their backs up against the wall and could be facing yet another rebuild.
While the Magic have had a playoff looking roster in recent years and some young talent they have developed into solid players, they are still nowhere near competing in the Eastern Conference. Nikola Vucevic is their best player and coming off another fantastic season, in which he averaged 19.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and shooting 47.7% from the floor, 33.9% from three-point range, Vucevic has solidified himself as one of the best centers in the NBA.
Orlando believed Aaron Gordon would be the second superstar on this team next to Vucevic in the frontcourt, but due to injuries and the lack of having a reliable jump shot, Gordon’s future in Orlando is now up in the air and they will be without defensive forward, Jonathan Isaac, for the entire 2020-21 NBA season due to a torn ACL.
Two bright spots for the Magic are that Chuma Okeke will finally make his NBA debut this season after rehabbing from injuries all of last year and Cole Anthony joins the Magic as the 15th overall pick in this past year’s draft. These two guys will look to show what they bring to the table for both now and in the future and definitely have a lot of upside to them.
Overall though, the Orlando Magic are still in no position to compete for a championship and could wind up missing the playoffs in a better Eastern Conference this year. Here are 4 bold predictions for the Orlando Magic entering the 2020-21 NBA season.
