The Orlando Magic have the team in place to be successful, but it is going to largely come down to something that is out of their control.
The Orlando Magic are about to embark on a critical season in which expectations will be high for a young core that has demonstrated talent, but has yet to prove that it can take the next step.
For the Magic, there have been multiple factors that have contributed to their limitations, such as youth and a lack of offense. But a primary hindrance for the Magic has been their health.
In recent seasons, this organization has struggled mightily with injuries to key players. In the 2024-25 campaign, both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner dealt with oblique injuries that kept them out for a significant portion of the regular season, and Jalen Suggs was limited to 35 games while missing the playoffs due to his own injuries.
In 2025, Wagner was the one who was hurt the most, as he played in a career-low 34 games due to a high ankle sprain that led to other issues. Wagner made his way back for the playoffs, only to suffer a calf strain in Game 4 of the Magic’s first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons that sidelined him for the remainder of it and contributed to Orlando squandering a 3-1 lead.
When healthy, Orlando has demonstrated its potential, but precedent has made it so that concern over the health of the team is warranted. Recently, I discussed this topic with my colleague RJ Saunders of 1010XL Magic. Here is what I had to say:
"My biggest point of concern, and I hate to sound like Jeff Weltman, is health. I mean, when you come down to brass tacks, we will never know what this team can do if they're not healthy. And my colleague, Philip Rossman-Reich, made a great point on his podcast a couple of weeks ago. He said that he believes that the version that we saw of the Orlando Magic last season is as bad as they will ever be, given that all they went through. And if that's as bad as they'll be, then they're in a good spot.
But I think the concern really does come down to health. And if the offseason work that these guys put in, the rest and recovery, which, by the way, was huge for Franz Wagner- choosing not to play in Germany- I'm sure that was hard on him. I'm sure he wanted to be here with his teammate, playing for his native country.
But he made the choice to stay home and recover after a brutal season so he can be ready for what's going to be another difficult 82-game slate. So I would say that's my point of confidence and my point of concern, RJ."
