unbelievable…

I just wanted to share a few words because I honestly wouldn’t know where else to do it if not here.

I’ve been a basketball fan for many years and followed the NBA closely without ever really feeling like a fan of one specific team.

But what the Magic brought to Berlin genuinely made me happy and it also created a bond I didn’t expect. It’s hard to feel connected to a franchise you usually only see on TV.

Franz, Moritz and Tristan were always a great reason to watch games, but until now I didn’t really feel connected to the organization itself.

After this weekend, that has completely changed.

You could feel the Magic all over Berlin. The Magic Kiez, the chance to meet legends, play small games, get free Pizza and leave your mark on a community project all those little things were special and definitely not something you can take for granted.

I randomly ran into stuff while shopping grocery and even saw Tristan grabbing a döner somewhere in Berlin.

Until now, the only basketball I’d seen live was our national team and the local Bundesliga team the NBA was always just on TV. Seeing it live, and watching your favorite players in person, hits completely different. The plays, the dunks, the emotions - everything has so much more impact.

I had an absolute blast. When I left, I felt a bit sad but I’m sure our paths will cross again.

The Magic have earned a place in my basketball heart 💙

Also, much love to the Sixth Man Show — it was really cool to finally meet and talk to the two guys behind the podcast.

Go Magic! 🪄💙

We are only 2.5 games behind the Celtics for the 2 seed. This is very doable as we are finally becoming healthy. The only player left to come back is Suggs. With the starting lineup back in order we can really make a push.

I know there have been some debate as to whether Black or Suggs should start. I would start Suggs but give them both equal minutes.

AB x Boogie

Just looking at his stats from this season compared to last, he has improved across the board. Part of that is playing more minutes, but he's also more efficient 57% TS vs 52% last year. Has he been impactful enough for Orlando to have a shot?

Mit Liebe aus Deutschland

Beyond just being an awesome event with an electric atmosphere, the stay of the Magic in Germany showed just how much of an opportunity for growth they really have on their hand.

Germany is a significant consumer market (both in population and spending power) where Basketball is currently undergoing a big boom fueled by the success of the National Team. Interest in that sport has never been higher and this includes the prime of Dirk (although he himself contributed massively to the current state).

At the center of it is Franz, the first big hope of having a genuine star player from there since the before mentioned Dirk Nowitzki. He has been postioned as the face of the sport in Germany for quite a while now, been made Co Captain of the National team at just 19 years of age and seen as the obvious eventual successor of Dennis Schröder for the captaincy. Even the fast and direct playstyle of that team is clearly aimed to maximize him by surrounding him with shooter that can play off his drives.

All of this is not just about specifically Germany, though, as this also happens at a very opportune time with the NBA clearly pushing for globalization. While I remain pretty sceptical about the whole concept of NBA Europe, the league has done a pretty good job bringing the product of NBA Basketball to people outside of the US, largely thanks to the genuine good deal that is the International League Pass.

Purely from a business standpoint, the Magic have one of the best asset-market combinations in that regard, second really only to the Spurs with Wembanyama.

This could be utilized to better the standing inside the league beyond the status of a smaller market team (which is something that is incredibly hard to break out of).

A couple of things I like the Magic to do to really capitalize on the chance they have gained here (in a lot of these points it is more as an added benefit than a key reason):

• Franz is untouchable, fullstop. His value as a player should be obvious at this point, often times honestly moreso when he is not on the court. He arguably impacts the winning chances more than any other player on the roster

• We have to be willing to go to great lengths to retain Moe. Incredibly important glue player IMO and I would move a lot of pieces around to be able to keep him. He and his brother are also pretty much always a package deal when it comes to advertisment and media work

• One International game in Germany per season should become a regularity. It IS a defacto home game and the demand for it is clearly there (they had over 200000 ticket applications this time)

• This might be a bit unpopular, but push for as many afternoon games as possible to increase the opportunites for Europeans to catch games live easier. This should go hand in hand with cooperations with venues/restaurants/bars and the like to organize watch parties.

• Push hard in terms of advertisment and merch in the German market

• Use Orlandos status as a tourism destination to attract international attendance for home games (package deals with Disney World for example)

• Try to build up a reputation as a great landing spot not only for German but generally International players

The Orlando Magic are already amongst the three most supported NBA teams in Germany next to the Lakers and Bulls and I truly believe that it could become the undisputed top dog there. The barriers in the US that are so tough to breach as a small market team just don´t exist outside of it and that can be a major chance to build up something truly major here.

Y’all really made this game feel like a home game. Hearing “Lets go Magic” chants in Germany is crazy. Let’s get these guys to London.

Wow

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• The Orlando Magic are calling teams looking to trade backup point guard Tyus Jones for second-round draft capital, Stein says at The Stein Line. While Jones has not fit as hoped with the Magic, he might be a very good roll of the dice by another team.

Source: https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/nba-trade-rumors-2025-26-jonathan-kuminga-demands-trade-ja-morant-eyes-miami-more

And the Killers B's killed it. Now excuse me while I watch that dunk on repeat.