The pride of Paolo Banchero? Have given an identity to the Magic

Slowly but surely, a new dynamic is taking place in Orlando. The arrival of Jamahl Mosley represented the first stone of a new project whose Paolo Bancherofirst choice of the last Draft, is now the cornerstone.

If the record of the Magic is not yet up to the ambitions of the franchise (27 wins – 39 losses), the group has multiplied the signs of progress, such as its series of eight wins in nine games initiated three months ago. and marked by two consecutive successes on the floor of Boston. While waiting to move on to the positive one day, Paolo Banchero is therefore satisfied that the name of Magic is now respected again.

“It has been a priority for me all my life. At every level, I always wanted to be competitive. I look like a sweet man, but in my head, I want to win more than anything. Coming here was the most important thing. We were at the bottom of the pack last year. Even before I arrived, the Magic weren’t thought highly of since Dwight Howard’s arrival. I wanted to end this image as soon as possible”, did he declare. “As a group, we enjoy great respect within the league, among our opponents. I bet if you ask any team that has played against us, they won’t say at all that we are an easy team to play. We think we can win, we can beat anyone in the league.

Small victories that prepare the future

The performance of the Magic is there to attest to this. Although times have been a little tougher in recent weeks, there was also another convincing success a month ago, against Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets. Victories like this help prevent the rest of the league. If we slow down against the Magic, we risk being sanctioned.

“As a competitor, you never want to be seen as an easy-to-beat team or player. We want to be respected in the league. But it is not given. No one is going to give us that respect. So it’s up to us to earn it every night. I think that’s what we did by winning important victories, “ he added. “I wouldn’t say any teams underestimated us. Since the station wagon. Since the break, I think all the teams have concentrated against us. But it is certain that at the beginning of the season, teams took us lightly. You could see it by the way we were beating some of them at the start of our seven or eight winning streak. They were lethargic. Or, when we won, they made a funny face. Losing to the Magic?! It’s slowly starting to fade. The teams realized how good we could be.”.

The last match lost against the Bucks, however deprived of Giannis Antetokounmpo, however, proved that there was still a long way to go. Paolo Banchero is still a rookie and many young players are also looking for their marks by his side. It will still take time for the Magic to regain the heights.

That’s good, the former Duke sees himself staying in Orlando for the long term.

“I love Orlando, the city. She is sunny. It’s quiet, but lots to do with Disney and everything. Being able to bring a title to the franchise is the number one goal, for me and for the team. Obviously, it takes years of failures and attempts, it doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process that will take five or ten years. But I think we learn to put everything in place. We might get there a little faster.”