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Orlando – Before the start of the 2022-23 season, the Orlando Magic preached the importance of “leveling up” and showing signs of progress this season.
After a 5-20 start on the NBA calendar, Orlando closed the schedule with a 29-28 record and remained in postseason contention until the final few games remained on the docket.
A large part of that was due to the team’s ability to handle adversity. It was essential for the young group to establish an identity, and arguably Magic’s resilience became a major factor in this team.
The team’s president of basketball operations, head coach and players touched on it all during Orlando’s exit interview on Monday. Here are some of the more noteworthy and citable pieces of information from these sessions.
Magic Basketball Operations President Jeff Weltman:
“First and foremost, I like being healthy,” Wertmann said of the team’s ability to get fit during the season. “It’s been a while since we went through that. We have, we’ve built, we’ve learned, we know what it takes to stay competitive, we’re a much better team today than we were in December, and with the recognition we’ve gained for the rest of this season With understanding, we hope to be a better team for next season, and we will continue to build on that next year.” Watch Interview
Magic head coach Jamal Mosley:
The Magic won 12 more games in 2022-23 than they did last season. Orlando’s head coach has had a significant impact on the improvement of the team as a whole and the development of many of its young players.
One of the areas where he has made the most progress has been the team’s resilience during difficult times.
“That’s the word we’ve been using all year long, that level of resilience. It’s about being resilient no matter what happens. You talk about the game of basketball being a game of run and flow.” But that’s what we’ve experienced. So when you’re down 10 points, when you start 5-20, no matter what the situation is, you pick yourself back up, keep fighting, keep going and don’t leave them alone. It’s an ability. Keep going until the end buzzer sounds.” Watch Interview
After spending most of his first two years in the league as a starter, Anthony will be off the bench for much of this season. It was an obvious adjustment for the University of North Carolina alumni, but the 6-foot-3 guard steadily improved as the season progressed, putting together his best basketball stretches to round out the schedule. , Anthony averaged 15.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, shooting 48.8% from the floor and 42.3% from long range.
“The best thing for me was getting Markelle[Fultz]back,” Anthony said. “Of course his play on the court was, but I think it[also]created a certain level of healthy competition between the two of us. Look, obviously I want to go there. (And) I’d like to start off by saying that Markell is a great player. Even on courts where we both want to win (and) have the same goals.We play similar positions, but that just created competition. It’s been really good for me personally and I think it’s been really good for this team.
Banchero finished the season first in points (20.0 per game), fifth in rebounds (6.9), and third in assists per game (3.7) among first-year players. In fact, his 20+ points scoring in his 40 games was exactly what LeBron his James totaled in his rookie days. As a result, the 6-foot-10-inch, 255-pound forward is a front-runner for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.
“It would mean everything,” Banchero said of what it means to receive the honor. wanted to be the best rookie, but also wanted to help the team win and be a positive influence on the team in terms of wins and overall success. It’s a blessing.” Watch the interview
The Magic signed with Bitadze as a free agent on February 13th. The 6-foot-11 center has appeared in 17 games for Orlando, averaging 5.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and one block per game.
The best out of his stint with the Magic was in the penultimate game of the season when Bitase tallied 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against the Brooklyn Nets.
“I’ve been craving basketball for a long time, so I really enjoyed this,” said Bitadze as he gained extra time in the final stretch of the season. I wish I could, but that’s the motivation.As a group, we all have to get better.There’s a big chance that we’re going to go really far.Slow down?No, maybe go straight to work. I’m taking this seriously.I don’t want to slow this down.I just want to go real hard.”
The theme of Magic Media Day was “Level Up”. Carter never chopped words when expressing what he thinks his goals for next season will be.
“It’s the playoffs,” Carter said nonchalantly. “People don’t want to think of it like, oh, you have to go to the playoffs or the top teams, oh, you have to win a championship to be successful.” But I think we’re at a pretty good stage right now where we can say it.The guys want to win now. So it goes with winning.If you make it to the playoffs, whatever happens there will happen.” Watch Interview
Markelle Fultz had a quote from the day when asked about his approach to shooting three-point shots and triple shots more freely to close out the season, simply saying he’d developed a “sense of forgetting it.” Now the 6-foot-4 guard might use different words that start with the same letter to describe his mentality, but that’s the point. was clearly more confident across the arc.
“Just my will to go there and shoot it, it’s almost a[forgetting]feeling,” Fultz said. “Again, that’s what I’ve been working on this summer. I knocked down a lot of those shots. I was very comfortable taking those shots. When I step in, my mind goes straight into my habits and what I do consistently, and when I’m in a game I’m just trying to do whatever I can to win. This is something you keep working on in the off-season and build up. Or rather, my habits are going into the paint and into the midrange.” View Interview
Fresh off his ninth season in the league, Harris has enough experience to know what good coaching looks like in the NBA. And he affirms that Magic is lucky to have Mosley as captain.
“(He) did a great job,” said head coach Harris. “Just every day. It’s been great to be able to go directly to Moses’ office and talk to him or someone on the coaching staff.It’s an open book.”
“He wants it. He wants to be one of these great head coaches. I think he’s doing well. He’s a game student. He’s studying. We’re ready, every game we’re ready, we know what the other teams are going to do, he tells us, he puts everything in front of us. It means a lot to this coaching staff.It means a lot to us.When you have people thinking about something together, good things happen.”
The Magic’s second-round pick from the 2022 NBA Draft has spent the season bouncing between the team’s G League affiliates, Lakeland and Orlando. He credited both locations for his growth over the course of his rookie campaign.
“Just getting a rep[playing for Lakeland]helped a lot,” Hustan said. He also revealed that he will be participating in Summer League this offseason. “When I went there, I was playing half an hour every game. So I think it really helped me with confidence and in terms of getting the rep that wasn’t always happening[in Orlando]and making sure I was going through it at the game speed level. I think that helped me when I got the chance.” Watch Interview
Isaac was one of the feel-good stories of the year when he returned to NBA action from injury after 904 days spanning four different seasons. Unfortunately, his story didn’t have a happy ending, as the 6-foot-10 forward underwent surgery in early March to repair a torn left adductor muscle and will end the 2022-23 season. I’m done.
In a retiree interview, Isaac revealed that he could be out of the hospital completely in a few weeks and hopes to get to work this offseason.
“I feel good,” said Isaac. “I have been steadily rehabilitating and I am looking forward to a good summer ahead of next year.”
“This is going to be the first summer I’m going to work full time (for a while). I’m trying to rehab every other year and get back on the court. I want to be fully prepared for the summer by strengthening and doing everything I need to do to stay healthy.” Watch Interview
Earlier last offseason, Jalen Suggs underwent surgery to address a minor stress fracture in his right ankle. This year, the 5th overall pick in his 2022 NBA Draft, he is healthy and ready to go into the summer and attack offseason workouts at full force.
“This is very important and I look forward to going to work,” Suggs said. Back to the gym, back to work, days like that.I haven’t eaten it yet, so I’m excited.” Watch Interview
After a strong rookie campaign, Wagner had a brilliant second year. When asked where he improved the most, Wagner decided to talk about his defensive growth throughout the year.
“On court, I’d say we’ve taken a definite step in the right direction on defense,” he explained. “He’s also impactful as a help defender. Even on the ball, especially here in his 20-30 game, I was able to get a little out of his comfort zone and put a little more pressure on him.”
Wagner also noted Orlando’s incredible locker room culture and unique blend of talent and personality.
“We have a very good group,” he said. “We fit really well in terms of our personalities. On the court, we fit really well too. From what I’ve heard from others who’ve been on , our condition as a group is just not normal. We have a special blend of characters in a great way. is great.” Watch Interview
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