The Orlando Magic have quietly been collecting young talent for the past few years. While the future appears bright, Magic odds to win this year’s NBA title are notably long, listed at +17500. Oddsmakers project at least a slight improvement for Orlando, setting its season long win total at 36.5.
Fondly known as “Project 6 ’10,” the Magic’s roster features a litany of tall, versatile forwards capable of running the offense. Reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero quickly established his place as a premier scorer and rebounder. If he’s able to develop as a playmaker alongside Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr., the Magic might be competitive in the East sooner than expected.
Magic odds
View the updated Orlando Magic odds below, including moneyline, point spreads, and totals for their next game.
View Magic NBA Title odds below.
Magic Roster
Additions: Anthony Black (draft), Jett Howard (draft), Joe Ingles (signed)
Subtractions: Bol Bol (free agent), Michael Carter-Williams (free agent)
Here is the current Magic roster.
Magic 2023-2024 Schedule
The Magic have opened the 2023-24 regular season. Here is Orlando’s complete schedule.
Who are the best players on the Magic?
Paolo Banchero: The Magic selected Banchero with the first overall pick in last summer’s NBA draft and the former Duke standout did not disappoint. He averaged more than 20 points a night in his first season, good for ninth-most of any Rookie since 2000.
He’s been the best Rookie for the entire season and is almost a shoe-in to take home the Rookie of the Year Award at odds.
Banchero led all Rookies in points, minutes, free throw attempts, and usage rate. He’s also in the top ten among first-year players in three-pointers made, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
Fellow Rookie Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder is a lock to take second-place in the voting, with an outside chance at claiming first. There is a reasonable argument to be made for him to win at thanks to an incredible second half of the season.
Since February 1, Williams ranks in the top ten among Rookies who qualify in points, three-point percentage, and rebounds. He leads them all in steals with two per game, which is also good for third among all players during that time.
More than anything, J-Will’s play has been the slight nudge the Thunder needed to reach the 10-seed in the West.
Still, Paolo’s stats are as good as Williams over the last two months. He’s also been consistently putting up the same stat lines throughout the course of a full NBA season.
So, will voters weigh team success more heavily and deliver the award to J-Will? Or, will they reward Paolo for one of the most dominant Rookie seasons we’ve seen in the last quarter of a century?
Franz Wagner: Much like Banchero, Franz Wagner has validated his high selection in the NBA Draft. The eighth overall pick in the 2021-22 draft, Wagner has blossomed into a solid NBA scorer with a seemingly bright future.
At 6-foot-9, Wagner can play shooting guard or either forward spot depending on who’s on the floor with him. With a lethal shot from deep on top of impressive handles for someone his size, he’s a consistent matchup problem for opponents.
His durability has been a huge asset for Orlando as well, only missing four games over his first two seasons. He even upped his playing time, going from 30 minutes to 32 this season.
If Wagner and Banchero can continue to build their chemistry and, unlike most of the Magic’s superstars from the past, stay in Orlando, they should be able to create a top-10 NBA duo.
When Franz and Paolo were on the floor together this season, the team had a positive net rating. That’s very impressive for a rookie-sophomore combo responsible for providing the bulk of its team’s offense.
Wendell Carter Jr.: Wendell Carter Jr. was greeted with high expectations when he arrived in Orlando in 2021. There was no way Orlando was going to send its All-Star center, Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls if its young center out of Duke wasn’t a part of the deal.
Carter Jr. has met those expectations and then some.
In his first full season with Orlando, the team needed him to be a true center and play around the basket. He answered the call by averaging 10.5 rebounds a game, 12th-most in the league.
This season, the 6-foot-10 Banchero gobbled up nearly eight rebounds per game. That allowed Carter Jr. the flexibility to roam around more and fill in other spots on the court. As a result, he psoted career highs in all of the major shooting categories, most notably his 36% shooting from three.
Magic props
TheLines.com props search tool allows you to easily search between Orlando Magic team and player props. To view all of the available props for players like Markelle Fultz in one chart use the search bar below.
Magic 2023 Recap
The Magic had a great season relative to most preseason expectations of it coming into 2022-23. It’s been a top team all year against the spread, covering in 58% of its games.
Orlando got off to an incredibly slow start, losing 15 of its first 20 games. It clearly missed the presence of starting point guard, Markelle Fultz, who didn’t make his season debut until November 30. Orlando was in the midst of a nine-game losing streak at the time.
The Magic went 6-15 without Fultz in the lineup. With him it managed to win 50% of the time, instilling hope that this team can compete in the Eastern Conference when it has a competent point guard at the helm.
Fultz has one more year left on his deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024. If he can stay healthy for a full season, expect Fultz to put up quality numbers for a promising young Magic team.
How to bet on the Magic
Moneyline
Wagering on the moneyline is the simplest type of NBA bet, determinant upon a team winning or losing the game. Use the below example from a game between the Magic and Atlanta Hawks.
Magic -140
Hawks +175
The negative number on the Magic moneyline (-140) indicates they are favored to win by oddsmakers. It would take a $140 wager to win $100 profit, plus the $140 originally posted for the bet. A $100 on the Hawks would net $175 in profit if they can pull off the upset.
Point Spread
Books will also set a point spread for NBA games, which considers the margin of victory rather than just the winner and loser. The below example considers the Magic as underdogs against the Cleveland Cavaliers:
Magic +4.5 (-115)
Celtics -4.5 (-115)
Here the oddsmaker has the Celtics favored by 4.5 points, indicated by the “-4.5.” They need to win by at least five points to cover the point spread and cash the bet. As underdogs, the Magic can lose by up to four points or win the game for a bet on them to cash.
The (-115) odds listed next to each team’s point spread show the return on a correct bet in American Odds. Both teams have the same -115 odds so a $115 bet on the winning team pays the bettor $100, plus the $115 wagered. A $100 bet on the would earn the bettor $86.96 plus the initial wager if it hits.
Point Total (Over/Under)
A wager on the total or over/under is a bet on whether the combined points scored by each team will be more or less than the number set by the oddsmaker. For example, if the point total in a game between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers is set at 235 points and ends with a final score of 121-110, a bet on the under would cash out, whereas a final score that combined for more than 235 points would not.
Live Betting
Betting on games while they’re in-play is known as live betting, which can be a fruitful strategy for those who prepare ahead of time. Take a game that has the Magic (-250 on the moneyline) as favorites in their matchup with the Detroit Pistons (+200 on the moneyline). A $100 bet on the Magic before the game starts would only make a $40 profit. You also know that the Magic often start slowly when they play at home and there’s a good chance the Pistons are able to keep this close early in the game. Using that info, you could hold on to your bet until the game is in motion to see if the odds on the Magic moneyline shift in your favor.
If the Pistons come out firing and claim an early lead, oddsmakers will move the lines to reflect the current score, increasing the value of a bet on the Magic to win, upping your profits on a correctly (and well-timed) bet.
Live betting is also where “hedging” your bets can come into play, a tactic by bettors where they make one bet before the game starts and then an opposing bet while the game is live as a way to recoup their potential losses. Let’s say you bet on Orlando (+180 underdogs) to win a game against the Chicago Bulls (-200 favorites), but at halftime the Magic are down by 10 points. The live odds for a moneyline bet on the Bulls now only pays you back one-third of your money, or -300. By giving up on the Magic and betting on the Bulls moneyline at -300 during halftime, you’re hedging your initial bet on the Magic in an attempt to recover some money from a seemingly lost cause.
Parlays and Teasers
Parlay and Teaser bets combine multiple different bets together for an increased payout as long as 100% of your selected bets are successful.
A parlay is slightly more straightforward than a teaser. For example, the Orlando moneyline (-140) against the Miami Heat seems like a good play, as well as the Golden State Warriors (-200 on the moneyline) to defeat the Houston Rockets. You can parlay both of those outcomes together and wager, increasing the odds on your return to +157.
A teaser allows bettors to move multiple point spreads or totals in their preferred direction. Let’s say you like the Magic (-4.5) in their matchup with the Denver Nuggets as much as you do the Minnesota Timberwolves (-5.5 favorites) in their game with the Utah Jazz. You can tease both lines by four points (most books offer anywhere from four-to-six point teases) to shift the lines to Orlando (-0.5) / Minnesota (-1.5). Now, both teams need to win by four fewer points than the original lines for your bet to cash.
Futures
Future bets are placed on props in the longer-term future. Team win totals, award winners and player performances are common future bets.
Franchise History
Orlando is one of the youngest franchises in the league, playing its first season in 1989. Its first three seasons were abysmal as the team only managed 69 wins over that time.
Then, it drafted Shaquille O’Neal in 1992 and won 20 more games than the previous season.
A year later, it drafted Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and clinched its first-ever playoff spot. There was a ton of optimism in Orlando thanks to its two young superstars, Penny and Shaq.
In just their second season together, the two led the Magic all the way to the NBA Finals, though they were unable to beat Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
Most fans around the league expected Orlando to become a staple in the NBA Finals for at least the rest of the decade, but the Magic never made it back. The next season would be Penny and Shaq’s last together, after the Magic lost to Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Things fell a part for Orlando the following offseason when O’Neal requested a trade. He got his wish when the team traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers that summer.
Orlando’s second of its two NBA Finals appearances came in 2009 when it lost to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Much like the current iteration of the Magic, that team also started multiple players 6-foot-10 or taller in Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard.
Orlando has never won an NBA championship.
Magic FAQ
Who did the Orlando Magic pick in the NBA Draft?
The Magic used their two first round picks to select SG Anthony Black out of Arkansas and SG Jett Howard out of Michigan.
What are the odds that the Magic are going to win the championship this year?
The Magic opened the preseason with () odds to win the 2024 NBA championship.
What are the Orlando Magic’s odds of winning the Southeast Division?
The Orlando Magic open the 2023-2024 season with () odds to win the Southeast Division.