ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic’s ‘Everybody In’ playoff brand campaign is more than just a mantra.
It’s an embodiment of everything this organization and its fanbase have created over the past couple of seasons.
The Magic’s savvy personnel maneuvers, perfect head coaching hire, tremendous draft selections, team-first culture, internal growth, and phenomenal home environment have all set the table for a 2024 playoff run as well as long-term future success. The culmination of all that work has not only created a successful squad, but it’s turned Orlando into a destination.
“It takes all of us right now,” said Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman recently on Open Mike. “We're the only team in the last quarter century to have 45 wins and our top three leading scorers, they're all 22-years old or younger. So, we're in a unique spot right now, and it takes a village. And we’ve got a great village.”
The Magic started writing the opening chapter to this story when they closed the page on a prior one. Weltman’s well-orchestrated series of trade-deadline moves back in March 2021 sent former players Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier to new locations and brought back a haul of draft assets along with now starting-caliber pieces such as Wendell Carter Jr. and Gary Harris.
“We felt that this was the right thing to do,” said Weltman of those moves. “And we're just going to continue to try to build it with the right people. That's the most important thing. And if we can do that, hopefully, we can kind of keep this thing on track. And like I talked about the first day after the trade, build something that's sustainable. That's not easy to do in this league because there's a lot of flux, there's a lot of change. There are a lot of guys switching locker rooms in summers. And we're trying to create an environment that players want to come to, want to stay in, and (add those that) want to be part of something bigger than themselves. So, it takes the right kind of person to embrace that, and that's what we're trying to do.”
Equally as important as those maneuvers was the team’s decision to hire head coach Jamahl Mosley that summer. In his three seasons at the helm, he’s taken this team from 22 wins in year one, to 34 in year two, and to 47 victories, the fifth seed in the playoffs and a Southeast Division title in year three. The franchise recently rewarded Mosley for his efforts by signing him to a multi-year contract extension.
“First of all, he's a spectacular human being. He just really invests himself in the lives of others. He's a true coach, a true teacher, a true mentor, and just cares,” said Weltman of Mosley. “He's completing his third year as a head coach, our whole team is growing, and the trajectory that we're on – there's no reason that we shouldn't expect continued growth. And he's obviously been a huge part of what we're doing, and we couldn't be happier to have him at the helm.”
While gaining draft assets is one thing, making the most of them is another. Over that same three-year span, Orlando selected key pieces such as Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner in 2021 – with Wagner coming courtesy of a pick from the Chicago Bulls – and NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero in 2022.
The Magic have also helped develop players like Cole Anthony, Carter, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, and Moe Wagner and help them reach new heights in their individual games.
The team’s head coach, their players, and front office have also collectively cultivated a culture and identity that translates to the court. They’ve strived to make defense their calling card, execute their offense by committee, and play for one another.
The numbers show that they’ve checked all those boxes over the course of their 2023-24 campaign. Orlando finished the regular season with the NBA’s third-best defensive rating (110.8), made a 13-win jump from the prior year, and flashed their maturity by going a league-best 40-1 when leading heading into the final frame of a game.
“It means a lot to us,” said Banchero, who became just the eighth player in NBA history to record 3,000-plus, 1,000-plus rebounds and 700-plus assists over their first two seasons. “This group has been together and put in a lot of work together. We all really just wanted to do this as a team.”
The selflessness and trust factor manifested itself on the court in one of the most pivotal moments of the season. In the second quarter of the Magic’s season finale against the Milwaukee Bucks with a playoff berth on the line, Carter was set to check in the game. However, the 6-foot-10 center saw that Isaac had it rolling and was terrorizing the Bucks on the defensive end. He turned to his coach and instructed him to let the Minister of Defense do his thing.
“That’s the power of this group; that’s the power of this team,” said Mosley. “We can talk about it all day long and say by committee, by committee – it sounds great. But (when that happens), as a coach I just need to shut up and let them do what they’re supposed to do.”
It’s been clear that Magic fans appreciate not only the performance of this team, but their character as well. They’ve shown up in droves to the Kia Center, with five of the top seven attendances in franchise history coming over the course of the season. That’s had its impact on the court with Orlando going a perfect 17-0 at Kia Center against sub-.500 clubs.
“We wouldn't have the same record without our fans,” Weltman explained. “So, I hope that they're patting themselves on the back a little bit … I think we were picked to win 36 or 37 games preseason, and I really believe that the fans embracing the team and getting behind us is a big part of the reason that we won 10 more games than that.”
All of those aforementioned achievements not only have the Magic primed for a first-round playoff matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but set up for future success as well. While internal growth will always be a staple of this group, players around the league have taken notice of what the Magic are building and that can also make them a destination when free agency rolls around.
“What we're really trying to do also is make ourselves a destination,” Weltman explained. “We want to be (a spot that) when a player goes to a GM or an owner and says, hey, listen, I'm not sure this is working here. I'm telling you guys with time to go get a good deal for me. And here are the three teams that I would sign with, which by definition would bring you a better haul. You just want to get on that list. And so, I really believe that we're getting there. I believe that people around the league are recognizing that it's a good place to come to work every day. It's a good locker room to be in. You're part of something bigger than yourself. The (AdventHealth Training Center) is second to none. And our coaching staff, the way that they believe, and connect, and put our players in a position to succeed, all of those things, I think are starting to flywheel and build. So, we'll see where that puts us.”
That doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes Everybody being all In.