The Orlando Magic were one of the surprise teams in the NBA during the 2023-24 season, with the team coming into its own as some of their players took their games to another level, like Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs.
Although it wasn’t all that surprising to see Banchero become an All-Star and the undisputed leader of the Magic last season, Suggs becoming one of the best perimeter defenders in the league has been surprising and a promising sign for Orlando’s chance of being a title contender for the foreseeable future.
The team has assembled a winning combination of players headlined by Banchero, Suggs, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and veteran newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and now they’ve secured the long-term future of one of their best starters.
Ahead of the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the Magic signed Suggs to a massive contract extension ahead of the league’s deadline, as he’ll get paid $30 million annually on a five-year deal worth $150.5 million, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
ESPN says Orlando’s Jalen Suggs has indeed now landed the $30 million annual salary we reported Saturday that he was seeking via a five-year, $150.5 million rookie-scale extension secured before today’s 6 PM ET buzzer for such deals.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq https://t.co/o99FeTdKK9
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 21, 2024
Last season, the Magic went from a team perenially looking at the NBA Draft because of poor records to one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference that might now be a perennial playoff team.
With Suggs and Caldwell-Pope being the starting point guard and shooting guard in Orlando, the Magic have one of the best defensive backcourts in the league and are in the conversation for being one of the best defensive teams in the league heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
