What a fall from grace the Orlando Magic have experienced. A playoff team one year to bottom feeder in the Eastern Conference the next. After a season full of turnover and turmoil, the dust has finally settled, and we can take a look back at the apparent nightmare of a season that was 2020.
What a year it was for the Magic. There were high hopes in Orlando as the team was coming off of back-to-back playoff appearances. The season definitely didn’t pan out as fans hoped for or expected. The Magic fell to the 14th seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-51.
After what appeared to be a very disappointing 2020 campaign for the Orlando Magic, looking back on it, it may have been just what the team needed.
On paper, it was a terrible season, nobody ever likes to see their favorite team at the bottom of the standings. It was supposed to finally be the year that Nikola Vučević, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier got it together and lead the Magic to the top half of the Eastern Conference with the help of their young players and the benefit of a shortened season. Instead, we saw the Magic become riddled with injuries, poor play and end up completely blowing it up, trading away their three core players.
3 reasons this season was a success for the Orlando Magic
Looking at the roster, there aren’t very many names that pop out to the more casual NBA fans who most likely only recognize Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. That doesn’t mean that this team is devoid of talent. Look at the Rockets, another rebuilding team that has a bright future because of the players on the roster. What this Orlando Magic team lacks is experienced. Just because the team finished second to last in the East and got rid of their roster mainstays, doesn’t mean this season was a failure.
Everybody will have their own thoughts and opinions on the Magic’s season but let’s take a look at three reasons that the 2020 campaign was actually a success.