Orlando Magic: 3 ways to build on playoff appearance in 2019-20

The Orlando Magic were one of the surprise packages of the 2018-19 season as they made the playoffs. Here are three ways they can build on that next season.

The Orlando Magic have entered the 2019 offseason with a lot of optimism around the franchise for the first time in a long time. Their unexpected run to the playoffs is the main reason for this, rallying from 11 games below .500 to push their way in as the 7-seed.

Now that the euphoria surrounding the organization has worn off, the need to nail this upcoming summer looms larger than ever. In previous years of what was a meandering rebuild, fans hoped more than anything else that they could get a high draft pick to get excited about.

For the most part that didn’t happen, with former second overall pick Victor Oladipo only going on to much better things once he had found his way to the Indiana Pacers. So while the need to draft well was important, actual expectations for the following campaign were always minimal.

Now that has changed, with an appearance in the postseason and the recognition from some of the talking heads in the media meaning some more attention is now being paid to basketball in Orlando. They are still not close to being a talked about franchise beyond stealing a road playoff game against the Toronto Raptors, but it’s a start.

That’s what makes this summer so important. The next phase of the Magic’s return to relevancy returned quicker than people thought, and with it has come different expectations for next season. Failure to capitalize on this moment and not make it back to the playoffs again will now look like something of a step backwards.

The following are three ways to meaningfully build on this season’s playoff appearance, ensuring that the Magic can at least get back to the same point in 2020.