The Orlando Magic continue to trend in the right direction, emerging as a legitimate championship contender just as expected entering the season. Currently sitting atop the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference with a 15–10 record, the Magic have pushed through early-season injuries and found success for a key reason: character.

This team carries a strong underdog mentality, playing with consistent physicality and grit that often earns them wins in tight games. That edge is led by guards Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane, who set the tone on both ends of the floor. After a gritty comeback win against the Miami Heat, head coach Jamahl Mosley praised the team’s mentality and resilience, even when playing from behind.

"We just said it in the locker room: you find a way, whatever it looks like, you find a way to win. That’s the mark of this Magic team,” Mosley said. “They pull for one another, they’re never out of it, and they just keep fighting for one another. They never rattled—they just found a way and then sat down and guarded."

 "The guys realized it wasn’t our style of basketball to start,” Mosley added. “They jumped on us early—give them credit, they hit us in the mouth right away. We needed to wake up and we did. Our guys did a great job staying the course, chipping away, not trying to go for home runs, but just hitting singles."

This isn’t just something noticed by coach Mosley, but by the players as well, who are giving their best effort on the court every opportunity. That mindset has played a big factor in Desmond Bane’s success since his slow start to the season, as Bane brings a chip and edge this team previously lacked.

“Our spirit was in the right spot,” Bane said. “Nobody hung their head. We understood we had to get back to our identity—smash-mouth basketball on both sides of the floor. Once we started playing that way, everything started turning for us and we rode that all the way through."

Magic superstar Paolo Banchero, recently back after missing 10 days with injury, is finding his rhythm in the lineup and believes this team’s mentality is a defining trait of what makes a successful playoff team.

"If you want to be a good team, a great team, and win deep in the playoffs, you’ve got to be able to do things like that,” Banchero said. “Credit to the team and coaches for not getting flustered when we were down crazy—18-2 or whatever it was. The bench cut it to nine, we kept chipping away, and before you knew it, it was a tie game and we took it from there."

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