The Orlando Magic's strength of their young players is what has made the team so interesting over the past couple of seasons. As one of the younger rosters in the NBA, the Magic have impressed many with how quickly their young guys have become bonafide stars.
CBS Sports released an article, ranking the NBA's 10 best duos who are or under the age of 25. The Magic's duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner cracked the list at No. 9, just ahead of the Trail Blazers duo of Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe at No. 10 and behind the Hawks' duo of Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels at No. 8.
"This one is a Rorschach Test," the article wrote. "Some people might wonder why they're not higher. Individually, both Wagner and Banchero are supremely talented. Together, I'm still not sure they work the way the Magic hoped and intended."
Wagner and Banchero have been viewed as the two cornerstones of the franchise but similar to last season, both have dealt or are currently dealing with the injury bug that continues to plague the team. Wagner is 24 years old and Banchero is 23.
"Both Wagner and Banchero have dealt with injuries," the article added. "After getting off to a hot start, Wagner has missed the last 16 games with an ankle issue. Meanwhile, Banchero's counting stats are impressive, but he's a career 31.5 percent shooter from deep. Wagner isn't much better at 32.5 percent for his career (though in fairness he was shooting 36 percent on four attempts per game before getting hurt). The spacing has always been a little wonky and concerning with these guys. When both play, the Magic have a ho-hum 100-95 record. (Orlando is 24-17 when only Wagner is available, and just 13-20 when only Paolo can go.) Do they work together long-term?"
Last year, this duo would certainly have been ranked higher. However, this season, we haven't seen both on the floor together much. Wagner led the offense while Banchero was inactive earlier this season and now, the roles have switched. Banchero is having a relatively down season but both players are talented enough to be considered one of the stronger duos in the Eastern Conference.
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