{"id":102157,"date":"2025-08-22T16:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/102157\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T16:00:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:00:11","slug":"orlando-magics-starting-five-receives-major-honor-in-latest-power-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/102157\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic’s Starting Five Receives Major Honor In Latest Power Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orlando Magic made major improvements to the starting lineup this offseason with the addition of Desmond Bane<\/a>. He replaces Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who struggled to elevate the offense alongside Paolo Banchero<\/a> and Franz Wagner <\/a>despite being expected to fill a veteran role. After that experiment fell short, the Magic stopped playing conservatively and went all in. They sent Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four first-round picks to acquire Bane. Not only is Bane one of the league\u2019s elite three-point shooters, but he\u2019s also among the best perimeter defenders, making Orlando\u2019s starting lineup one of the strongest in the Eastern Conference and potentially in the entire NBA.<\/p>\n

Bleacher Report recently ranked<\/a> the Magic\u2019s starting five at No. 7, citing their youth and potential to grow into one of the league\u2019s best units.<\/p>\n

Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.<\/p>\n

“Injuries to various starters throughout the entire season prevented the Orlando Magic from logging any real time together,” Bleacher Report wrote. “Although the four returners were a plus-7.1in 200 possessions. Adding in Bane as an elite three-point shooter (41.0 percent for his career) and secondary playmaker (5.3 assists per game last season) will help boost an offense that was dreadful for most of last year.”<\/p>\n

“Suggs, Wagner, Banchero and Carter are all a year closer to reaching their primes,” Bleacher Report added. “If Wagner can even become an average three-point shooter again (28.9 percent over the last two seasons), this could be one of the best starting fives in the NBA.”<\/p>\n

If they stay healthy, Suggs and Bane could form one of the NBA\u2019s best defensive backcourts. Both bring a physical, gritty mentality that fits seamlessly into coach Jamahl Mosley\u2019s defensive system. While Bane is expected to elevate Orlando\u2019s perimeter shooting, Suggs could benefit most offensively as opposing defenses focus on Bane, Banchero and Wagner.<\/p>\n

Banchero and Wagner have the potential to become perennial All-Stars and likely would have drawn consideration last season if not for injuries. Their dynamic mirrors the Boston Celtics\u2019 Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown pairing, with both serving as primary ball handlers rather than one deferring to the other. As the Magic chase an NBA Finals berth, both are expected to take another leap toward career years.<\/p>\n

Magic’s Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane Hoping To Make Crowning Achievement<\/a><\/p>\n

Orlando Magic Gaining National Respect for One Key Reason<\/a><\/p>\n

Magic Guard Ranks Just Behind Stephen Curry In NBA 2K26\u2019s Three-Point List<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Orlando Magic made major improvements to the starting lineup this offseason with the addition of Desmond Bane.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-102157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}