A big part of the Orlando Magic’s success this season can be attributed to head coach Jamahl Mosley for his work on developing the young roster into a well-oiled machine. Turns out, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is a fan of his work.
In over a decade or so, the Magic have languished in mediocrity, preventing any chance of real and sustained growth through the years. Orlando wasn’t good enough to attract stars to join, nor was the franchise bad enough to win lottery picks in the draft. As a result, the team was often either booted out in the first round of the playoffs or they didn’t sink to the bottom to get more chances of drafting a superstar.
That all changed in the last three years when Orlando’s front office decided to focus on developing their own players well, rather than go for half-baked solutions. With guys like Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, and Franz Wagner, to name a few, coming into their own, the Magic are now reaping the hard work they put into these picks.
But the main factor that led to success is picking All-Star forward Paolo Banchero in the 2022 Draft to be their foundational piece. Now in his second year in the league, the sophomore has led Orlando to its best season since 2011, and the best chance they have to go deep in the playoffs.
Portland Trail Blazers’ Chauncey Billups Predicts Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley Will Win Coach of the Year in the Future
Apart from Banchero, Mosley deserves a lot of the credit for turning the Magic into a playoff contender. Among those who have given him his flowers is Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. In a video shared by Fawzan Amer on X:
The Trail Blazers, on the other hand, are in the first year of their rebuild after the front office traded All-Star guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in the offseason. This season, though, Portland is among the worst teams in the league with 19 wins and 56 losses.
As it stands, Mosley deserves all the praise coming his way for turning the Magic around this season. Hopefully, Billups can do the same for the Trail Blazers in the coming years.
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