NBA basketball returns Oct. 24. We are counting down the days like the seconds on a shot clock — literally, that’s what we’re doing. As of Oct. 1, our writers will list 24 storylines heading into the 2023-24 NBA season.

A new storyline will drop each day. Here’s No. 17:

Even with Paolo Banchero and a solid young core, Orlando will need to work some magic to end its three-year playoff drought.

Banchero’s arrival played a key role in sparking a 12-win improvement from the previous season, and the franchise is poised to capture 40 victories in 2023-24 for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

But let’s pump the brakes on Orlando conjuring up enough magic for a return to the postseason. That’s not an indictment on the Magic. It’s just acknowledgement of the talent populating the rosters of the Eastern Conference, coupled with the fact there’s still room to grow for this young Orlando squad.

The Magic finished 12 games below .500 in the East (20-32) and two games below that threshold in the Southeast Division (7-9). Count on those numbers improving this season despite relative inactivity in the offseason. Orlando signed solid veteran Joe Ingles, re-signed Mo Wagner, and drafted Anthony Black and Jett Howard.

The club smartly resisted the urge to spend wildly in free agency, choosing instead to maintain long-term flexibility while trusting in the continued improvement of Banchero, Franz and Mo Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz under the tutelage of Jamahl Mosley.

The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year absorbed some key seasoning over the summer competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup alongside some of the league’s best on Team USA and against his own teammates in the Wagners, who helped Germany capture its first title. All three should benefit tremendously from the experience of battling on the international stage.

Fultz and Mo Wagner are coming off arguably their best seasons, and everybody understands the team has reached a critical stage in its development, perhaps even sooner than expected. Orlando addressed shooting in free agency and the draft, and it’s likely that success in 2023-24 hinges heavily on how the staff divvies up bench minutes.

As Orlando continues to figure out the direction it wants to go long term, it will contend strongly for a berth in the Play-In Tournament and maybe even more. We’ll see.

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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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