USA Today: Orlando Magic are 26th in ‘Watchability Rankings’

Mar 28, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) and forward Tobias Harris (12) celebrate after Harris drew a foul in overtime as the Magic beat the Charlotte Bobcats 110-105 at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

As we edge closer to the beginning of the 2014-15 NBA season, Adi Joseph of USA Today has been running a series ranking each team on how watchable they are.

The good news is that the Orlando Magic isn’t last in the rankings (that honour belongs to the Philadelphia 76ers) but they aren’t too much higher as they come in 26th.

“The young and talented Magic could be fun, if they can figure out how to stay competitive. But with that not assured, they come in 26th on our NBA Watchability Rankings,” Joseph writes.

While we wish the Magic would be higher in this ranking, their position isn’t at all surprising.

They have no superstar and it’s more than likely a casual NBA fan can’t name one Magic player.

That’s not to say the Magic don’t have talent, they certainly do in Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and others, but they aren’t a team that can market themselves on the big stage due to their lack of success over the last two seasons and of course the fact they don’t possess that so called ‘superstar.’

2014-15 likely isn’t going to be much different either. The Magic have just two national television slots for the upcoming season, neither of which will be on ESPN or TNT, so casual NBA fans won’t be watching Orlando this season.

As Joseph eludes too, it’s unclear just how good the Magic are going to be. Many expect them to be a high lottery team again while some think they could make a run at the 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Despite winning just 23 games last season, Magic games were often fun to watch due to the team being primarily made up of guys under the age of 25 (although at times it was also very frustrating). That hasn’t changed this season, and with a number of interesting matchups this season, Magic basketball should still be worth the time to watch.