2025 Orlando Magic Season Review: What Went Right - Making the Playoffs
The Orlando Magic did not accomplish many of their goals this season. But making the Playoffs was an important step the team needed to take. The baseline has grown.
Whenever a team struggles and fails to meet expectations or deals with massive injuries, the temptation and discussion of whether to abandon the season and go for a top pick inevitably becomes part of the conversation.
Especially in a draft with a big player like this one in Cooper Flagg and another season where a Play-In team rose to the top to earn the No. 1 pick, that temptation is always there. You can always power down the computer and try to reboot it again in October.
Even the carrot of the Play-In Tournament has not completely turned that invasive thought from entering people's heads. It never entered the heads of the Dallas Mavericks (the lottery winners) or the Miami Heat (the 10-seed that made the Playoffs).
Still, there were plenty of commenters and naysayers asking what the point was of trying to make the Play-In Tournament. Why was it important to finish a season strong that fell short of the team's lofty expectations?
Why should the Magic go all out to get the 7-seed? Why was being 41-41 important? What does it all mean in the end?
The Magic had several goals this season. They did not meet many of them. There was no fighting for homecourt advantage. There was no 50-win season. There was no advancement of the team as a whole. They have entered the offseason thinking about some very real questions about the team's future and makeup. They have a lot of work to do to get to the contending class they hoped to approach.