With all due respect to college basketball’s March Madness, it pales in comparison to the NBA’s Magic Mania, where the ultimate underdog has become the quintessential bracket-buster.
Most of the bracketologists thought the Magic were a bubble team at best and probably wouldn’t even make the NBA’s postseason tournament — otherwise known as the playoffs — but now their NET ranking is skyrocketing.
Even after Saturday night’s 109-107 loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Magic are the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the New York Knicks for the 4 seed, 1½ games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 3 seed and 3½ games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2 seed.
Cinderella has suddenly turned into a legitimate contender and her glass slipper has morphed into a pair of championship-caliber Nikes. The Magic were on a five-game winning streak heading into the game with wins in 18 of their last 23 outings. Since Jan. 28, the the league-leading Boston Celtics have the best record in the league at 21-3, but the Magic were second at 19-7 — ahead of the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and all the rest of the contenders.
I’m not saying the Magic are going to win the NBA championship this season, but isn’t it fun to at least talk about the possibilities?
Isn’t it fun to dream again?
It’s no secret that these last dozen years since the Dwightmare have been miserable for everybody. For fans, of course, it was the worst because they were being asked to spend their precious time and hard-earned money on an inferior product. They were paying Broadway prices for a show more suitable for the Bargain Buffet Dinner Theater.
But, hey, it’s been hard on us sports writers and sports radio hosts as well. I’ll be honest with you, I used to dread staying up and watching Magic games and only did so because I knew I needed to talk about the game the next day on the radio or gain some insight to write a Sentinel column.
I felt like I HAD to watch the games.
Now I WANT to watch the games.
Many fans used to come to Kia Center to watch the stars who came to town with the Lakers or the Celtics or even the hated Miami Heat, but now they pack the arena to cheer on their Magic. Two seasons ago, before the arrival of rising superstar Paolo Banchero, the Magic were 26th in the league in attendance. Now they are 11th — one spot behind the Lakers and two spots behind the Celtics.
Earlier this week, after the Magic rallied from 12 down to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, coach Jamahl Mosley began his post-game media conference with a shoutout to Magic fans.
“Before anybody says anything, I have to give all the credit to our fans,” Mosley said. “[They] were incredible tonight. We can’t say enough about what the energy and support in this arena means. Unbelievable.”
It is unbelievable how this Magic franchise has risen from the ashes of malaise and misery to ignite a fan base that not so long ago had quit watching and — even worse — quit caring.
Isn’t it a lot more fun watching the scoreboard as the Magic vie for playoff position rather than watching the scoreboard as the Magic vie for draft-lottery position? Isn’t it a lot more fun to watch an up-and-coming young team develop while it’s winning rather than to watch a down-and-out young team develop while it’s losing?
Who will ever forget when the tanking Magic of a dozen years ago would insert not-ready-for-primetime rookie Andrew Nicholson into the game during key stretches of actual games just so he could work on his 3-point shooting?
As a sports fan, I never bought the “enjoy the journey” garbage that you always hear general managers spew as they embark on a massive rebuild. Let’s be honest, the journey is no fun when your team is losing. It’s only fun to watch your team’s players grow and develop when they’re winning.
And that’s why this season has been such a blast. We’ve seen this humble and hungry team — still one of the youngest in the league — mature and evolve while winning games and defying expectations.
Isn’t it fun to cheer for unselfish young stars like forwards Banchero and Franz Wagner who are more concerned about winning and competing than who can get the most shots and score the most points? It should tell you something that Banchero (22.6 points per game) and Wagner (19.9 ppg) are not just the team’s two leading scorers but the two leading distributors with more assists than anybody else on the team.
Isn’t it fun to cheer for an intense, hard-working, defensive-minded team that is third in the league in points allowed and first in the league in knees scraped and bodies sacrificed? This is a roster filled with tenacious players such as guard Jalen Suggs, who hounds opponents all over the floor; forward Jonathan Isaac, who is a defensive stopper off the bench; and reserve center Mo Wagner, who is among the league leaders in charges taken.
Isn’t it fun to cheer for a team when every player on the roster seems to embrace his role? Case in point: The Magic’s reserves are averaging 41.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league in bench scoring. Just the other night against the Pelicans, the Magic fell behind by 12 points in the first quarter, but guard Cole Anthony and Mo Wagner came off the bench to lead a 33-10 charge over the next nine minutes. As a result, the Magic were able to build a 47-36 lead before Banchero even scored a point.
And isn’t it fun to cheer for a coach like Mosley, the ultimate underdog who interviewed for head-coaching positions nine times before the Magic finally hired him? Mosley has steadily developed the players and instilled in them a belief that they could win games through chemistry, camaraderie, culture and commitment.
I never thought it would reach the point where I would much rather watch NBA regular-season games than the NCAA tournament.
But here we are.
In the midst of March Madness, Magic Mania reigns supreme.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen
