The Orlando Magic started off so well this 2024–25 NBA Season and were challenging for home-court advantage early. But injuries to their key players torpedoed that promising start and relegated the team to the play-ins against the Atlanta Hawks. But they’re relatively healthy now, especially their top two guys—Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Your Main Man: Franz Wagner
Paolo Banchero is the face of the Magic, but Franz Wagner is the fantasy pick here. His numbers are slightly down now 24.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 0.4 BPG—but so are his minutes. Expect him to see more minutes as the Magic go for broke to salvage their once-promising season. Another thing going for Wagner is he’s shown he can play big in big games when he helped lead Germany to the World Cup title.
Surefire Studs: Paolo Banchero, Cole Anthony
Banchero was poised for a phenomenal season but got derailed by injury. He’s healthy now and looking to lead the Magic to the playoffs with Wagner. His numbers at this point are also very similar to his stats early in the season—25.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, and 0.8 BPG—and it’s likely he will continue to be a stud moving forward.
Like we said in the previous draft, Cole Anthony is too high at this spot. But the two players who would’ve taken his place here—Moritz Wagner and Jalen Suggs—are injured. That being said, you’re still getting 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks from Anthony, and that’s still decent enough production. Plus, he’s also shown he can come up big for the Magic when needed.
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Low Cost, High Value Picks: Goga Bitadze, Anthony Black
Goga Bitadze has continued to be a solid backup big for the Magic—and that’s probably his final role with the team, if we’re being honest. But 7.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 20.4 minutes aren’t too bad, both in real games and in fantasy leagues. In fact, those numbers make for a terrific low-cost option.
With no Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black has helped the Magic backcourt with solid minutes and nice production—9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks. With the Magic in need of good perimeter play, Black figures to play an even bigger role for Orlando in their chase for a postseason spot.
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