7-for-1 trade! Eastern Conference rising star takes off! Sweeping the Heat with five wins in a single season

OMG.

The Magic swept the Heat with five wins this season (five meetings due to the NBA Cup), marking the second time in the NBA's new century that a team has achieved five wins in a single season against one opponent, the previous instance being the Pelicans sweeping the Kings five times in the 23-24 season.

Currently, the Magic hold the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 38 wins and 28 losses, while the Heat are seventh with 38 wins and 30 losses, separated by just one win.

In fact, the Magic showed signs of rising last season, finishing the regular season with 41 wins and 41 losses, making the playoffs via the play-in tournament and advancing to the postseason, where they lost 1-4 to the Celtics in the first round; this season, after acquiring Bane, they have progressed further.

During last summer's offseason, the Magic traded KCP + Cole Anthony + four unprotected first-round picks + a 2029 first-round pick swap to acquire Bane from the Grizzlies.

So far this season, Bane has played 66 games for the Magic, averaging 34.3 minutes per game with contributions of 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1 steal, hitting 2 three-pointers per game at a 38.7% shooting rate.

Bane's arrival primarily provides the Magic with much-needed outside firepower. Up to this point in the season, the team's total three-pointers made (11.7) and three-point percentage (34.5%) both rank 24th in the league—still mid-to-low tier—but it's worth noting that last season, both in the regular season and playoffs, they were the league's worst shooting team, without exception.

Born on June 25, 1998, he stands 6'6" (1.98m) with a wingspan of 6'4" (1.93m). He was the 30th pick in the first round of the 2020 draft and spent his first five NBA seasons with the Grizzlies. In his third year, he averaged 21.5 points, 5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1 steal per game, and in his fourth year, he posted averages of 23.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1 steal, so he hasn't yet reached his peak form this season.

It's extremely rare for a wingspan to be shorter than height; Bane is truly a "T-Rex" in this regard, even surpassing Griffin (height 6'9" (2.06m) & wingspan 6'11" (2.11m)).

In summary, at least for now, the Magic's bold 7-for-1 trade to acquire Bane is justified. The team is now more competitive in the Eastern Conference and no longer has obvious weaknesses, aiming to advance past the first round and achieve something significant this year.