The Orlando Magic were a pleasant surprise during the 2018-19 NBA season. Here are the five biggest takeaways from their year.

The Orlando Magic came into the 2018-19 season as an organization that was being overlooked. It was an understandable position to take, with the Magic seemingly having gone around in circles for the better part of seven years in a messy rebuild.

This was the year when the pieces started to come together, however. Two years of near faultless work by the front office culminated in an appearance in the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2012. To then steal Game 1 on the road against the Toronto Raptors thanks to that shot from D.J. Augustin went beyond what even the most optimistic fans thought was possible for the season.

All of which is to say, the Magic have entered the offseason in a good place for the first time in a long time. They have a direction again, and a label as one of the lesser talked about, up-and-coming teams in the league.

The summer ahead is still a tricky one, however, with both Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross becoming unrestricted free agents. This is a critical juncture in the rebuild, with compelling cases being made both for and against bringing Vucevic back. The same is true of Ross, but as a fan favorite and great sixth man off the bench who will command less money, re-signing him to a new deal seems a no-brainer.

Before all of that though, let’s take a look back at the year that was for the Magic — one with lots to be happy about as even the more casual fans got back in touch with what’s going on down in Orlando.