It’s been a long time since the Orlando Magic have held a prominent place in the NBA’s cultural zeitgeist. The post-Dwight years haven’t been kind to fans of the franchise, with the decade since producing exactly one winning season, two cameos as first round roadkill, a few criminally bad transactions, a fistful of Draft-related heartbreaks, and an average of just 27.5 wins per season.
Some recent dashes of good fortune, however, have seemingly provided the side a chance to establish a meaningful trajectory moving forward. First they crushed the Nikola Vucevic trade, returning a haul that they turned into Franz Wagner in the middle of the lottery and Wendell Carter Jr.