Orlando Magic 2024-25 Season Preview, Betting Odds

Years of selecting prospects with top-10 picks in the NBA draft has helped formulate an Orlando Magic roster that is once again prepared to be a competitive force in the Eastern Conference, and this past season was the first major step towards reestablishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with.

This 2024-25 season preview will analyze all betting odds pertaining to the Magic as they look to build off of their 47-win campaign and string together consecutive .500 seasons for the first time in over a decade.

Orlando Magic's 2024 Offseason Acquisitions 

Orlando Magic's 2024 Offseason Departures

Orlando Magic's 2025 NBA Championship, Eastern Conference, Southeast Division Betting Odds

Odds as of October 18, 2024 at FanDuel

It was the biggest collapse for a Game 7 since 1997 which ultimately did Orlando in, losing on the road in the opening round to the Cleveland Cavaliers despite owning a 47-29 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Call it a lack of maturity or experience or a combination of the two at the time, but coming so close to advancing to the conference semifinals only for the Cavaliers to snatch victory away from the jaws of defeat is the type of hurt that lingers. However, it may amount to a degree of hurt which could benefit the impressionable Magic moving forward, as defeats of such magnitude can build character and strengthen the resolve of the team's core. 

Best Bet: Orlando Magic To Win Southeast Division, -145

The Miami Heat have won twice as many Southeast Division crowns than any of the other four inhabitants, although the Magic prevented them from taking three in a row last season with a narrow one-game edge. It's essentially a two-team race for this future, but when taking into consideration that all which separated Miami and Orlando was a single game, having the Magic as the clear-cut favorites at minus money is a peculiar choice from oddsmakers. Then again, those numbers will fluctuate, and it may be in the interest of bettors to wait until the odds dip towards and into plus money for Orlando prior to wagering.

On paper, the Magic have the more balanced squad, but are on two polar opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to offense (22nd) and defense (3rd). The defense should maintain the status quo, especially with the offseason signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but scoring could continue to be problematic after ranking 24th in points and dead last in 3-pointers made.

More will be expected of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to spread the floor and be more consistent and efficient shooters from deep, but others on the depth chart will need to contribute after just three Magic players averaged better than eight points per game. The defense is still enough to carry Orlando to the top of the Southeast, but anything beyond that is a reach until the offense shows improvement.

Orlando Magic's 2024-25 NBA Win Total, Make Playoffs Odds

Odds as of October 18, 2024 at FanDuel

The Magic's 47-35 record with a .573 winning percentage in 2023-24 was the franchise's best finish since going 52-30 (.634) in 2011. It also marked the first time that Orlando won more games than it lost since 2019.

Best Bet: OVER 47.5 Wins, -102

Even the slightest uptick in offensive production will go a long way towards this future connecting, as Orlando would only need one more victory on the board than what it just recently achieved.

How the postseason unfolds is an entirely different story, but for the regular season, even with the top half of the East appearing more lethal, Orlando can certainly prevail 48 times or more as currently constructed. 

Orlando Magic's 2024 NBA Cup Odds

Odds as of October 18, 2024 at FanDuel

Despite finishing with an identical record, the Magic only managed to sit second in East Group C during the inaugural in-season tournament as a result of point differential. They had the third-best point differential of all teams to have finished second, as well, which kept them out of the knockout stage. 

Orlando Magic's 2024-25 NBA Awards Odds

Odds as of October 18, 2024 at FanDuel

Best Bet: Jalen Suggs For NBA Most Improved Player, +4000

The betting odds for Jalen Suggs taking Most Improved Player aren't the strongest in comparison to Banchero in the same race or even Jamahl Mosley taking Coach of the Year, but yet it's a far more logical result with a greater payout should it manifest. 

Banchero just averaged 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists across 80 appearances, and while his numbers should only get better, it won't be enough of a leap to vault him into contention for the hardware - at least not Most Improved Player. The same goes for Mosley, as Coach of the Year will likely land in the lap of an organization which vaulted up the standings, and the Magic aren't set to make that drastic a jump.

Enter Suggs, who is the Magic's third-best scorer by default with room for growth, and is coming off an appearance on the All-Defensive Second Team. He received 11 votes last season and finished eighth overall, well behind eventual winner Tyrese Maxey. Now slotting Suggs as the best bet here doesn't mean you should race to the closest sportsbook and put your money down, but when comparing it to all of the other options involving the Magic, you're not going to find a better alternative. 

2024-25 NBA Team Previews, Betting Odds