Orlando Magic: Team bonding evident with this ORL group early on

The seeds for the culture shift with the Orlando Magic were planted just after the trade deadline last season. Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon were sent packing, and in their place youth was allowed to blossom under the watchful eye of veteran Terrence Ross.

The change was evident quickly, with then-rookie Cole Anthony establishing himself as a leading voice among the group. R.J. Hampton came across from the Denver Nuggets and joined the fun, and although the losses came at a consistent rate, there was the feeling that this young group had the potential to grow into something special.

Then a video of the team enjoying some time together on a boat surfaced, and it showed a group that is ahead of schedule in creating chemistry.

It started with a video emerging on Anthony’s Instagram of the group training mostly as a whole in Orlando recently. Something that you could read too much into, but at the same time also not what every other organization seems to be doing. This makes sense though, with so many of the Orlando Magic’s players being young and looking to prove themselves.

If you take Ross and Robin Lopez out of the equation, then the core here is Anthony, Hampton, Jalen Suggs, Mohamed Bamba, Chuma Okeke, Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. No matter how this coming season goes, that list features their most important players.

As nice as this was to see, it was what followed after which was even more cause for optimism. First, there was the bike ride through the city, and Okeke getting roasted for some questionable fashion choices. But it all culminated in a trip out to sea, as the team appeared to rent a boat in order to do some water-based activities.

We had a bit of Miley Cyrus, some fun at sea with the squad, and even Okeke shooting what looked to be a music video while on the boat. Consider the mantle of best musician on the squad taken from former player Aaron Gordon. Something that will no doubt please the fans and be used to annoy Gordon when he eventually returns with the Nuggets.

But why is all of this necessary to put into an article? A group of players of a similar age is working out and enjoying downtime together before a season that is going to be filled with a lot of losing. All with an eye to a future that could include somebody as talented as this young man. That is missing the point though.

The Magic hired a new head coach in Jamahl Mosley a few months back, and one of the most important tasks he has right now is getting these players to gel. We saw it early on when he did some individual work with Bamba. The one player who, if you’re looking at all of the aforementioned players, has the shakiest future in Orlando.

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It is no accident that footage of coach Mosley and Bamba leaked. It is his way of letting Bamba know that, for now at least, he is in his plans and should consider himself part of the group. From that point on Mosley faded into the background, allowing the players to get to know each other better, but not under his watchful eye. This is again a smart strategy, and he will get them in line once the season begins.

Team chemistry is one of the key foundational blocks of building a roster with championship aspirations. It also allows for players to speak honestly with one another when things aren’t going well too. Once again, in case you were in any doubt, things are not going to go the Orlando Magic’s way much this coming year. Having these experiences together now will stand for them.

It helps to have high-character guys like Anthony, Hampton and Suggs in place. Three players who will be directly competing for minutes, but who, off the court, seem to get on extremely well. The roster is also being molded in their identity as well, which is important as all three could yet be key pieces once they get back to the playoffs.

So while all you might see is a bunch of guys oversharing and on their phones too much while together, if you look closer it is so much more than that. It is well-paid youngsters who don’t have to spend as much time together as they currently are. More than that, they are enjoying themselves as they do activities together, and fans are enjoying watching it all unfold.

Most importantly of all though, it is creating team chemistry which coach Mosley talked about implementing from his first day in charge. This version of the Orlando Magic just feels different but in the best possible way. You didn’t see this camaraderie from previous players. Or perhaps it just shows how much people in their early 20s are willing to share on social media. Either way, this is the best possible development for the franchise at this point in their development, and worth talking about.

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