Every NBA team needs a Patrick Beverley. He might not be the most skilled player in the league, but he is a fighter who makes the team better and holds them accountable. Despite their journeyman status, players like Patrick Beverley, and P J Tucker find a place in NBA teams with Playoff aspirations. Thus, it comes as no surprise that he derided the ESPN list, and the mentioned players who are comfortable being the bottom feeders.

The Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero and his teammate find themselves in the 30 and the 52 places in ESPN player rankings. But do they justify their rankings?

Where is the Magic?

Patrick Beverley makes a valid argument against the ESPN rankings. And he seems to be right. If the Magic has a top-30 player in Paolo Banchero and a top-60 player in Franz Wagner, ?then they should be winning games, and they should also earn a playoff spot?. But why are they so bad? Asks Pat Bev. But when was the last time the Orlando Magic was any good since the Dwight Howard days? Do they even have a winning culture to nurture talents like Paolo Banchero? The Magic should address Patrick Beverley’s outburst with sincerity if they want to be competitive.

The Orlando Magic is one of the youngest franchises in the NBA. They were established in the year 1989. But within a decade, they saw some enormous growth. They received Shaquille O?Neal in the 1992 draft, and later Penny Hardaway. Those stalwarts took the Magic to the 1995 finals against Hakeem?s Rockets and lost. They no longer have Dwight or Shaq in their lineup, but they do have some phenomenal young talent, like Paolo and Wagner, to build on. With so much parity in the league, the Magic should be more competitive and relevant.

Did Orlando play it safe and lose?

There was a huge debate in the media about the 2022 draft. Half of the media was behind Chet Holmgren, and the rest was behind Paolo Banchero. If not for Chet Holmgren’s injury concern, the magic would have picked him. And to their credit, Chet was out of the league in his first season and Paolo won the Rookie of the year.

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In this Preseason, all the noise is about Chet and Victor Wembanyama, and nothing about Paolo. Is he being stymied by being with the Magic, or it is a matter of time before the world would get to see him rise? Let us hope that these young stars take this league forward.

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