ORLANDO - Magic Head Coach Steve Clifford is of the belief that the best players in the NBA add to their game every single offseason.
As they accrue years, the jumps may be more incremental than the meteoric leaps that some of the league’s young stars take during the summer time. However, the impact of those steps is not to be undervalued.
Magic point guard D.J. Augustin fits the bill of the former. He’s lasted much longer in the league than many expected when he was the ninth overall pick by the then Charlotte Bobcats in the 2008 NBA Draft. Though he’s bounced around to eight different NBA teams in roles ranging from minimal minutes as a backup to an established starter, he currently finds himself as the reigning floor general on a team that just took its first trip to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.
In each stop along the way, Augustin has been consistent about two things, which have heavily contributed to his league longevity: working hard and continuing to learn.
“Even though I’m 12 years in this season, I still work like I’m in my rookie year,” Augustin explained. “My work ethic hasn’t changed; I just work a lot smarter now. Just trying to get better at the things I’m not as good at. Watching more film in the summer time, working on my shot, just doing things over and over, that way muscle memory when I get in the games, it’s just like the summer time.”
Those traits were evident on the court last season as Augustin put on display his durability, decision making, and deadly outside shooting.
Augustin was the only guard who logged an assist to turnover ratio above 3.00 while starting in at least 80 games last season, and ranked second in the NBA, only behind Stephen Curry, in pull-up 3-point percentage (38.9 percent) among regular starting point guards.
Augustin’s desire for continued improvement is superseded only by his hunger for his team to reach to new heights. The Magic’s point guard wants to ensure that his team builds on its 22-9 finish to the regular season rather than falling into a state of complacency with the results.
“It’s great to be part of this where we made the playoffs last year, okay great, it was big for the city and the organization, but now the next step is going further into the playoffs – second round, conference finals, NBA Finals, you never know what can happen when you make it to the playoffs,” Augustin said. “I think that’s our goal and that’s what I am expecting from us this year.”
The pieces are in place for the Magic to make such a jump in an Eastern Conference that saw its best player head westward for the second straight year as Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard created a new super team in Los Angeles with the Clippers following in the path of LeBron James, who departed Cleveland for the Lakers an offseason earlier.
While the reigning-champion Raptors failed to keep their foundation in place, Orlando managed to keep its core intact re-signing All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Terrence Ross along with key role players such as Khem Birch and Michael Carter-Williams. They also added a valuable veteran, building upon the team tenant of defensive versatility, by bringing in forward Al-Farouq Aminu from Portland.
“If we can start how we finished last year, who knows where we can be, fighting with the top teams in the East,” Augustin said.
Orlando is also blessed with a stable of 21-year-old standouts still capable of taking those giant offseason leaps in Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, and Markelle Fultz, who’ve all been relentlessly working this summer to take steps to improve their games.
Augustin, who’s witnessed their work firsthand during his many stops in the Magic’s practice facility this offseason, continues to push them to make strides.
“They’re in here every day whether it’s on the court working out or in the weight room lifting weights, the fact that they’re here now and have been here all summer doing those things, it’s going to go a long way in their growth and their development as basketball players,” he said. “Every guy doesn’t work out the same, some guys hang out in the summer time and work out every now and then, but those guys are dedicated and they’re working hard every single day.”
With a blend of young talent, veteran leadership, and a playoff roster returning all five starters, Augustin believes that key ingredient in taking that next step is the Magic’s mindset.
“I think last season our mindset was let’s prove everybody wrong, let’s show people that we can make the playoffs, and now I think our mindset this year should be okay, we’re a playoff team, let’s go in and make The Finals,” Augustin said. “That’s what it’s got to be.”
“We reached our goal last year of making the playoffs, so now what? Do we try to make it again and lose in the first round, do we scramble those last eight to 10 games to make the eighth spot? Our goal should be conference finals, championship. I think that our mindset is the biggest key this year. Going into the season we’re a playoff team, we have to know that about ourselves. Know that we can beat anybody, know that we should be talked about with the best teams in the league. That should be our mindset and that’s going to be the biggest key.”
If Orlando can mold its mindset into that of a championship contender, maybe it’s possible that it overachieves just like the career of its veteran point guard.