Oct 10, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Why the Magic could be one of the NBA's best watches

Originally posted on Orlando Magic on SI
By Matt Hanifan | Last updated Oct 21, 2025 8:40 AM ET

There is a lot of anticipation heading into the 2025-26 NBA season for the Orlando Magic after an injury-plagued campaign. Given their lofty expectations in a wide open East, NBA analyst and popular social media personality Rob Perez recently released his "League Pass Fun" rankings, with the Magic coming in at No. 6.

Perez's amalgamation of factors include each's team star power, drama potential, jerseys, broadcast team and the simple "Are they good?", among several others.

On a scale of 0-10, the Magic scored at least a seven in each of Perez's 10 categories, including a 10 in the load manage risk, jerseys and mascot categories.

League Pass Fun Ratings, 2025-2026 Season: pic.twitter.com/QqxfeFHwGV
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 20, 2025

If Orlando's offense pops and team stays healthy, they will be a great watch:

We know how good Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner is. Banchero has a chance to be a perennial All-Star and All-NBA player, while Wagner is one of the league's best second-fiddles because of his ability to create, playmake and defend at 6-foot-10.

Though we don't necessarily know how it will look with a full season of Desmond Bane -- one of the best shooters in the NBA who will attract loads of attention away from the Magic's two other stars. Additionally, we haven't seen how Orlando's new trio looks alongside two-way guard Jalen Suggs, who missed all of preseason and is still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

Theoretically, however, they should be a lot of fun. When you have three very good-to-great creators, you're going to be successful and fun to watch. If there's one knock, it's Banchero and Wagner's lack of efficiency, which has hindered the Magic offense. However, that's precisely why Bane is the perfect compliment to both.

I can't say I'm one for fashion or mascots (I'm not), but their new uniforms look exceptional, and Stuff the Magic Dragon appears like a cool mascot! I'm not sure you grade a mascot, but that's a different conversation for another day. The Magic's broadcast team -- led by David Steele and Jeff Turner -- are always a good listen, too.

What matters most is what happens on the court, and if the Magic stay out of injury H-E-double hockey sticks, there's no reason why they couldn't exceed 50 wins for the first time since 2010-11, when they won 52.