For all the talk of disappointment surrounding the Orlando Magic in the City Beautiful — some way or another — they got just as far as last year in their first-round elimination after a season filled with injuries to stars all over the roster.

But head coach Jamal Mosley acknowledged the challenging future facing the franchise in his exit interview Thursday afternoon. The days of fighting valiantly through adversity to get to the playoffs aren’t enough anymore for the team or the fans. It’s time to win. “. . . We’re not chasing mediocre. . . we’re chasing something bigger,” said Mosley. “. . . It’s great that you were able to play against the Boston Celtics who just won a championship [last year] so you can feel and understand what that’s like in real time, so you know how you have to prepare your mind and your body to get to the next level.”

It’s getting to the next level that is the focus of the Magic. Here are some things that came from their elimination at the hands of the Celtics that Orlando can harness moving forward.

Paolo and Franz Can be Big in the Playoffs

The numbers speak for themselves when it comes to the Orlando Magic’s franchise player Paolo Banchero. In 12 playoff games, he averages 28 points including the fiasco in Game 5 against Boston where highly questionable calls put him at five fouls in the third quarter. That game had him playing just under 30 minutes — the least playing time he’s recorded in a postseason loss. This alone is enough to stop him from averaging over 30 points per playoff game instead of 28.

Banchero has six games in 13 outings (including the play-in against the Atlanta Hawks this season) with 30 or more points with three double-doubles. All of this at the ripe age of 22 (he turns 23 during the upcoming season).

Paolo’s dominance aside, the guy who had something to prove after the playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers last year was Franz Wagner. After melting down in Game 7 against the Cavs in Cleveland, putting up only six points, Franz Wagner showed he can be reliable in the playoffs after all. His nearly 26 points per game in five games against the defending World Champion Celtics is leaps and bounds passed the nearly 19 points he averaged in seven against the Cavs. And like Banchero, Wagner is still young as he turns 24 before the start of the next season. This playoff series has proven the Magic’s top guys can perform on the big stage.

 Jeff Weltman Has No Choice Now

Calling back to an article near the NBA trade deadline, the Magic’s President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman had told the world that the front office was calling this season a wash since they weren’t in NBA championship contenders by not making any moves then. However, what this playoff series shows is that for all the beating that the Celtics took in a five games, the Magic could have extended the series at the very least if they weren’t the league’s worst team on offense.

Considering that Franz Wagner had 32 points in the Magic’s one playoff win against the Boston Celtics in a game where he missed 10 of the 13 three-point attempts he made, there’s no better case study for what could have been. The casual basketball fan even knows that hitting 26.2% from beyond the arc is bad.  But it means something completely different when you consider that the Magic missed 115 three-pointers in the series. That’s a big number

In short, next year Orlando must be better offensively or the front office may pay the price with their jobs. This urgency has been created by seeing how much missed shots became missed opportunities to extend the series against Boston.

Jamahl Mosley is the Right Head Coach to Elevate the Magic

There was a time in the 2024-25 where Mosley was considered an NBA Coach of the Year candidate. . . and then the Magic went on a 1-6 skid at home from February 21st to March 6th. Regardless of what Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe have to say about Jamahl Mosley’s “simple” offense, the truth is that Mosley has set this team up with countless opportunities to see the basket with an open look only for them to miss the shot or pass it up to a teammate instead.

The truth is that Jamahl Mosley is a guy that players rally behind. If the Magic fail to rise to the challenge, the fact that Mosley will likely be the scapegoat should they fail to reach round two of the NBA Playoffs is a different question than how essential he’s been in the development of this young talent. However, if Orlando makes it to round two it will be learning from this elimination that is the basis for Mosley earning respect from the NBA media.