While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.
In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.
Injuries derailed Orlando in the regular season, but the future is still bright for this young core. They just need to continue to build around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Orlando Magic 2024-25 Season Recap
Record: 41-41 (7th, East, lost first round)
Offensive Rating: 106.7 (29th)
Defensive Rating: 115.7 (24th)
Net Rating: -19.1 (27th)
Pace: 98.22 (23rd)
2024 Draft Picks: 16, 25, 46, 57
How often do two All-Star talents on the same team miss significant time in the same season due to oblique injuries? Well, that’s what happened this year, with both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner missing a huge chunk of games. Still, they were able to recover and make it to the playoffs, though they lost in five games to the Celtics. Orlando has plenty of youth and upside, and it is all centered around Banchero and Wagner. Banchero has already been an All-Star, while Wagner likely would’ve made it this season if he didn’t get hurt.
Still, there are plenty of questions for them to still answer. Banchero and Wagner are great, and Jalen Suggs is an excellent young player, but the rest of the roster is full of fringe starters and unproven youth. They have plenty of ammo to make moves, but they haven’t taken any swings yet. With four picks this season and a number of former lottery picks, will Orlando push their chips in and try to build a contending team around their star forward duo? Or will they opt to give this team another season to run things back and hope for better injury luck?
Fantasy Standout: Franz Wagner
Wagner was at his best when Paolo Banchero was sidelined, but he still had a strong year overall. He averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 triples per game across his 60 appearances. He shot below 30 percent on three-pointers (29.5) for the second straight season, but the rest of his production was great.
In 20 games without Banchero this season, Wagner averaged 26.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.8 steals and two triples per game. He was on pace to receive many honors throughout the year, but his oblique injury forced him to miss nearly two months. Prior to his injury, he had scored at least 30 points in three straight games. Wagner is talented enough to produce at that level consistently, but on a team with Banchero, that simply isn’t his role. He becomes a 1B option instead of a true top scorer. That isn’t a bad thing for Orlando, but for Wagner’s individual production, it will be limited. Even so, he was still still productive when Banchero was available this season; it just wasn’t as good as when Banchero was out.
The main thing Wagner needs to do is improve as a shooter. He shot 36.1 percent on triples two years ago, which provides some hope. He shot 32.1 percent from deep before his oblique injury and 27.5 percent after returning. Wagner mentioned that the injury impacted his shot, so hopefully he can fix his mechanics this summer. Still, 32.1 percent isn’t a great mark. If he can become more of a threat from distance, things will open up for the entire team.
Fantasy Revelation: Goga Bitadze
At a glance, Bitadze’s numbers don’t look great. He averaged 7.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 blocks in 20.4 minutes per game. However, there was a long stretch from November to January where he was considered a must-roster player and provided excellent value in nine-cat leagues.
From November 4 to January 12, Bitadze averaged 10.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.8 blocks while shooting 62.1 percent from the floor in 26.3 minutes per game. He provided fifth-round value during that stretch and seemed to have truly taken over as the primary center option in Orlando. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to maintain that production, and he was basically out of the rotation by the time the playoffs rolled around. Still, his breakout was one of the few revelations for the Magic this season.
Fantasy Disappointment: Wendell Carter Jr.
For the third straight season, Carter Jr.’s numbers took a hit, which resulted in arguably the worst season of his career. He averaged 9.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and two assists in 25.9 minutes per game despite starting in 51 of his 68 appearances.
There was a stretch where Carter Jr. lost his starting job to Bitadze, but after the All-Star break, he had taken it back. He had some decent games down the stretch, and the numbers were decent in the Boston series, but this was a frustrating year for him. He averaged under 10 points per game for the first time in his career and shot below 50 percent from the floor for the first time since his rookie year. After hitting at least one three-pointer per game in each of the last three seasons, Carter Jr. averaged 0.6 per game this year. Three years ago, he averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. It doesn’t feel like he’ll ever get back to producing at that level.
Fantasy Recaps/Look-Aheads
Paolo Banchero
The 2022 No. 1 overall pick was limited to just 46 games last season, but he still stuffed the stat sheet. He averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.9 triples per game, though he once again didn’t contribute much value in other categories.
Banchero only played five games before he missed over two months, and he had a 50/13/9 games in there. It felt like he was going to be in for a big season, which was unfortunately derailed by the oblique injury. Still, he set new career highs for both points and rebounds per game. Banchero hasn’t been a great category leagues player because he isn’t efficient and he doesn’t contribute defensive stats. Per NBA.com, Banchero took 4.7 mid-range shots per game and made just 41.7 percent of them. He also took 3.9 shots per game in the paint (but outside the restricted area) and made 41.3 percent of those. The mid-range shot can be valuable, but Banchero hasn’t been efficient enough for that to be the case. He either needs to improve his numbers or place an emphasis on getting to the rim. That will help his field goal percentage improve from 45.2 percent this year.
Jalen Suggs
The oblique injuries were the headlines, but Suggs ended up missing more time than both Banchero and Wagner. He only played 35 games and averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks and 2.2 threes per game. Aside from the assists, those were all the best marks of Suggs’ career.
At this point, Suggs just needs to stay healthy. His 35 games were the fewest he has played in a season in his career, but he has only reached 55 games once. That was the 2023-24 season, when he played 75 games. That makes it clear to us that it’s possible; it just hasn’t happened yet. Suggs has a dynamic game for category leagues, and his improvement as a shooter has been helpful for the team. He still doesn’t shoot a great percentage from distance (31.4 percent), but it’s getting better.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
After two seasons in Denver, KCP returned to the East to provide Orlando with a three-and-D veteran guard. He averaged 8.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 triples per game in his first year with the Magic. KCP has been a reliable source of both threes and steals throughout his career, and while he was still able to provide some value this year, his numbers did take a hit from his two years with the Nuggets. The 32-year-old will continue to be a strong veteran presence and a two-way contributor, but he’s going to have to bounce back next year to be worth rostering in standard leagues. He shot 46.2 percent and 46 percent from the floor during his two years in Denver, but he shot 42.6 percent this past season, which was his worst mark since the 2017-18 season.
Jonathan Isaac
The most impressive stat in the entire NBA this season was that Isaac played 71 games. Prior to this year, he had played 69 games since the bubble. His availability was great to see, and he averaged 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 15.4 minutes per game. With the way Isaac’s career has gone, it’s difficult to imagine Orlando playing him more than in a limited capacity. He is far more impactful in 15 minutes per game over the course of the season than in a larger role that leads to him missing time. Unfortunately, that will limit his fantasy upside. If that ever changes, Isaac’s game will translate to fantasy dominance.
Anthony Black
The 2023 No. 6 overall pick has shown flashes in his first two years in the NBA, but it hasn’t resulted in consistent production. Black averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.2 minutes per game. The potential is there, but he simply hasn’t gotten enough of an opportunity to turn it into elite numbers.
Black’s defense in college is what got him drafted so early, but his shooting limitations have kept him from earning more minutes. He showed more of a willingness to shoot from distance this past season, but he still isn’t a good enough shooter to provide space for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to drive. Could Black become a fantasy star that is among the league leaders in steals if he starts? Perhaps. Is it a good idea for the Magic to clog driving lanes when the team ranked dead last in three-point percentage and three-pointers made this past season? Perhaps not. Black is worth stashing in dynasty leagues, but the path for him isn’t clear right now.
Cole Anthony
Anthony saw his role decrease for a third straight season, and this ended up being the worst year of his career. He averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 threes in just 18.4 minutes per game. Anthony is one of the longest-tenured Magic players, and he should continue to play a reserve role for them. Having a player that can provide instant offense is still valuable. However, he ranked just inside the top 300 in nine-cat leagues. He may hold streaming value at times next season, but he shouldn’t be on your draft radar.
Tristan da Silva
Orlando took da Silva with the No. 18 pick in the draft last summer, and with the injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, he ended up playing more than they likely intended for him to. He averaged 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 triples in 22.0 minutes per game and started 38 times. He was drafted as a player that could space the floor and be ready to play from day one, and he was able to do both of those things as a rookie. He’s almost 24 years old, so he doesn’t hold the same upside that other players in his class did. However, he should continue to be a reliable reserve for the Magic.
Moritz Wagner
Sadly, Wagner’s season came to a close after just 30 games due to a torn left ACL. Prior to his injury, he averaged 12.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. That was the best scoring average of his career, though the sample size was small. He should be healthy to start next season, and he’ll continue to be a solid depth piece for them at center.
Restricted Free Agents: Mac McClung, Trevelin Queen
Unrestricted Free Agents: N/A
Team Option: Moritz Wagner, Gary Harris, Cory Joseph, Caleb Houstan
