Joint Stardom from Magic's Historic Banchero-Wagner Tandem is Applying Pressure

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, with less than three seasons together under their belt, have already entered rare air in Orlando Magic history.

At the season's end, they're set to become the first pair of Magic teammates to each average 20-plus points per game since Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway in 1995-96. But Tuesday night, with 24 points apiece in a win over the Spurs, Banchero and Wagner surpassed O'Neal and Hardaway for the longest streak of consecutive games each scoring 20-plus points.

O'Neal and Hardaway scored 20-plus in eight straight games during the 1994-95 campaign – a season that saw the Magic's first-ever run to the NBA Finals as the East's No. 1 seed.

Banchero and Wagner's 9-game streak not only takes over first in franchise history – it's the second-longest by a duo age 23-or-younger in NBA history.

"I think it says something about your two stars that can play off of each other, play with each other, trust each other, communicate with one another," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Tuesday. "It is a beautiful thing to watch when those two can play and bounce off each other and then help and continue to get other guys on the team involved."

"It's special for us as a team," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. "We put a lot on those guys as far as carrying us, being that leader on and off the court. They've just been doing it for us all year, and tonight just solidified them being the two stars on this team, creating for us and creating their own shot. I think they do a hell of a job of doing that."

However, Banchero and Wagner's run comes in a season where the Magic are likely heading to the Play-In Tournament – meaning their participation in the playoffs is not yet guaranteed. So, how have the Magic arrived here, where the combined efforts of one of the most productive young duos in league history have only amounted to a roller coaster regular season?

Part of it is injuries, which have cast a large shadow over the year and forced Orlando to alter its expectations from the preseason.

With Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner shelved until next year after season-ending knee surgeries, Orlando contends nightly without its third- and fourth-leading scorers. Suggs' role in the offense was to push the pace, and he helps to alleviate the pressure Banchero and Wagner face with spot-up shooting and secondary ball-handling. Off the bench, Moe Wagner's primary focus is to score. Statistically, he was the Magic's most proficient big-man option at doing that and one of the best reserve scorers in the league prior to injury.

Minus their instigation and always-on energy, Orlando's battery life is severely decreased from full capacity each time the Magic take the floor.

Banchero and Franz Wagner have dealt with it in different capacities, too. Banchero missed 34 games with a right abdominal muscle tear, and Wagner missed 20 with a less severe version of the same injury. Because of them, neither is eligible to be rewarded with the end-of-season honors they've otherwise deservingly garnered.

Even so, on Tuesday, Banchero joined LeBron James and Luka Doncic as the only players in league history 22-or-younger to total at least 4,300 points, 1,300 rebounds and 900 assists in their first three professional seasons. And, Wagner is on pace for career-best averages in points (24.2), rebounds (5.7), and assists (4.8) while taking on the opponent's best offensive matchup nightly, emerging as a true two-way star.

The Magic's historic duo has been back to pre-injury form since the All-Star break, and perhaps even better. While Orlando dealing with injuries up and down the roster has been unavoidable, though, so too has the fact that enough time has passed for adjustments to have been made and keep progressing forward.

Yet, despite its top-end talent and having a third-or-better defense for a second straight season, the Magic are going to finish with a bottom-third offense for the 13th consecutive year.

At 37-40 with five regular-season games remaining, here's where Orlando's offense checks in league-wide in several categories:

• 30th in points per game (105.0)
• 30th in 3PT% (31.4)
• 30th in assists per game (22.8)
• 27th in points per 100 posessions (108.5)
• 29th in eFG% (50.7)
• 29th in pace (96.53)
• 27th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.61)

That makes the Magic's 18 threes and 122.1 offensive rating Tuesday at San Antonio – the Spurs' second-worst defense since the All-Star break also lent a helping hand – an outlier. To that point, the Magic scored only 87 points the night before versus the LA Clippers' third-best defense.

Orlando's historically poor outside shooting and lack of spacing have proven time and again to be determining factors in the Magic's ceiling on a night-to-night basis.

Caldwell-Pope – signed last summer for both his championship pedigree and 40-percent accuracy from deep the previous five seasons – made seven triples for the first time in over four years in the win. It was one of his best performances in a Magic jersey, and to his credit, he's shooting 45.8 percent from deep in 20 games since the All-Star break.

But the 32-year-old is posting the second-lowest shot volume (7.2 FGA per game) and points (8.8) per game in his career. In each category, only his rookie season in Detroit has lower numbers.

He got up 11 shots Tuesday – just the ninth time he's found as many or more attempts this year. Mosley said Caldwell-Pope "demanded" the ball in the win, but the 12th-year guard credited Banchero and Wagner for helping him to find a rhythm.

"That's due to Paolo and Franz," Caldwell-Pope said. "Them creating, [San Antonio] putting two on the ball, and then them getting off the ball and us moving it and finding the open guy. Tonight, I guess I was the open guy."

Caleb Houstan continued his run Tuesday as one of the hottest shooters in the league with four more makes beyond the arc himself. The third-year pro is seeing consistent playing time for one of the first stretches of his professional career in large part because of his outside scoring threat.

"I think it changes our game completely when we have shooting like that and guys can't just sit in there in the paint," Wagner said Tuesday.

If there's a hole to be poked in Wagner's own game this year, it's his 29.0 percent three-point clip on 5.9 attempts a game. His assessment of how much the shooting aids their offense, however, is correct.

The Magic are 5-0 this season when making 18 or more threes in a game, 13-2 when making 15 or more, and 21-6 when making at least 13. Orlando is just 16-34 in all other instances.

The impact felt by the absence of consistent outside shooting is emphasized by the strain on available playmaking ball-handlers in the Magic's arsenal.

Banchero and Wagner each spend a majority of their time on the floor with the ball in their hands. Of players with at least 40 games played this year, the usage rates for Banchero (32.9) and Wagner (30.7) are fifth- and ninth-highest in the league, respectively. The attention of opposing defenses naturally gravitates toward the two 6-10 point-forwards, hoping to rid them of the ball and dare the Magic's supporting cast to beat them instead.

They often see double-teams and are forced to make tough passes or take tougher shots versus a defense that has shrunk the floor against them. Case in point, Banchero had four assists to five turnovers with a usage rate of 37.3 versus the Spurs.

Wagner had seven assists with no turnovers. He and Banchero will lead the Magic in assists for a second consecutive year.

Although vocal about wanting to play quicker, the Magic naturally play much slower with Banchero and Wagner always being the on-ball creators. Yet, sometimes the only way Orlando can ensure the ball gets into the hands of their best players on a given possession is for the ball to start there.

"I think it's been a season of challenges for us, producing every night and creating a lot of offense," Wagner said. "I think there's been a couple learning moments as well where we struggled with that a little bit, but I think we've done a good job of just sticking with it. Obviously, you need teammates as well that allow you to do that."

Barring a late-season changing of tides, the Magic's 2024-25 campaign figures to be remembered equally for the numerous injuries it featured for periods and the inconsistencies that came with it. Banchero and Wagner's combined play, however, is an undeniable positive sign in a season short on them.

Rather than seeing it as only a silver lining though, the Magic must instead ensure all bases are covered to capitalize on it this upcoming summer.

The reality is the trio of Banchero, Wagner and Suggs is about to get expensive – and quick. Wagner and Suggs' contract extensions kick in starting next season, and once Banchero signs a presumed rookie max extension this summer, Orlando projects to be a first-apron tax team in 2026-27. With that comes roster-building limitations that the Magic get one final summer free of this forthcoming offseason. After choosing not to make a move at this season's February deadline, the number of chances to improve the roster around its two stars is diminishing.

They've done the hard part: drafting and developing two clear-cut stars organically. The Magic, realizing their talent, have handed them the keys to be the spearheading tandem of this era of Orlando basketball.

Yet, many of the Magic's metrics are in the neighborhood of teams that are searching for a single star, let alone two. Orlando has higher aspirations than that, and frankly, those numbers will not cut it to reach those heights.

Banchero and Wagner's continuing emergence as one of the best frontcourts in the NBA at just age 22 and 23 is putting pressure on their counterparts around the league nightly.

Equally so, the pressure is mounting on the Magic organization to supplant its torchbearers of the future with the right all-around environment to succeed in.

Efforts like this can't come in an overall lost season again.

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

• HOUSTAN IS BASKETBALL-OBSESSED: "He really just cares about basketball and loves the game, loves his teammates, and loves the work that goes into it," Paolo Banchero said of Caleb Houstan. CLICK HERE
• FULTZ, ORLANDO TIES STILL TIGHT: Orlando was home for five years for Markelle Fultz. Although no longer with the team, that feeling hasn't left him. CLICK HERE
• 'WE'RE NOT DONE': The Magic officially know they've got postseason basketball on the horizon. But, that's not deviating their focus from finishing the year strong. CLICK HERE
• ISAAC CANDID ABOUT LESSENED ROLE: "Haven't shot it well, haven't played well overall, so I'm not necessarily blaming anybody or mad at anybody else but myself," Jonathan Isaac said. CLICK HERE

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