Like Orlando, Osceola Magic Have Sights Set on Playoffs

Osceola Well Represented at NBA All-Star Weekend 

By Josh Cohen

As the Orlando Magic continue their push for the playoffs, so are their G League team. 

The Osceola Magic, who are well represented at NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, are riding a three-game winning streak entering the break and sit at 10-7, just 1 ½ games back of first place in the Eastern Conference.

While Orlando is best known for its stellar defense, Osceola is one of the most potent offensive squads in the G League, possessing the league’s third-best rating on that end of the floor. 

Four of its players are averaging over 20 points per game, including Mac McClung, who is looking to become the fifth player in NBA history to win back-to-back slam dunk contests at All-Star Weekend. The only others who have accomplished that are Michael Jordan (1987, 1988), Jason Richardson (2002, 2003), Nate Robinson (2009, 2010) and Zach LaVine (2015, 2016). Dominique Wilkins and Harold Miner were also two-time winners, but not in back-to-back years. Robinson is the only three-time winner, having also won the competition in 2006.  

McClung, who in 14 regular season games is averaging 23.7 points on 50.4 percent overall shooting and 39.3 percent 3-point shooting, will also be playing in the Rising Stars Game on a team featuring only G League players. 

Where he feels he’s blossomed the most this season is as a floor general, making sure the team is functioning at a high level when he’s orchestrating the offense.

“I think the biggest thing is that I have a lot of talent to feed,” he said. “I have a lot of people to keep happy, so I think just being a point guard and making sure my points come last. Just kind of feeding everybody, and making sure I’m observing the floor and managing the game.”

Magic two-way contract players Kevon Harris and Trevelin Queen have also made their way to Indy, where they will be suiting up in Sunday’s G League Up Next Game. Both were among the 10 players voted in by the fans. 

Harris, now in his second season with the Magic as one of their two-way contract players, has been one of the most efficient players in the G League this season, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from 3-point range. 

The 6-foot-5, 216-pound guard, who started this year nursing a knee injury, has appeared in 36 games for the parent club in the last two seasons combined. 

Queen, meanwhile, has bounced back and forth between Orlando and Osceola this year. The former G League MVP has appeared in 20 G League games so far this season – showcase and regular season combined – and is averaging 23.9 points on 50.3 percent field goal shooting to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists. The 6-foot-6, 190-pound swingman got extensive minutes for Orlando when injuries cut into their normal rotation. 

“We have a great team (in Osceola),” McClung said. “We have a ton of talent. We’re just working all together, and we don’t want anything less than a championship. I think that’s all of our goals, and I think we have a good chance at it.”

Like Orlando, Osceola will be spending a lot of its time at home the rest of the season, with 10 games scheduled at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee in March. This is the first season for the Magic’s G League team in Osceola County, after spending the last six years in Polk County. 

In 2021, playing in the Disney bubble because of the pandemic, they won the G League championship.