12. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic may still be 2-3 years away from truly walking into their potential, but this is a team that should be on everyone’s radar in the Eastern Conference. They’re young, exciting, and have a swagger to them that they haven’t had, quite frankly, in a very long time. The hype around Paolo Banchero is real and he’s only going to get better. The young core surrounding Bacnchero is almost equally talented.
As long as there are no hiccups over the next few seasons, and if the development of their young players remains on track, the Magic have a chance to be one of the better teams in the East sooner rather than later. The NBA is a star-driven league and the Magic may have one of the league’s best young players in Banchero.
If even one of their two lottery picks from this year is a hit, there’s an outside chance that Orlando could be a dark horse threat to make the Play-In Tournament in the East. I won’t say that they are but there’s a chance they could be in that race by the end of the season.