In the 2023 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic pick at No. 6 and 11 overall. The team has several options with these Magic selections, including packaging them in a trade. However, the bold, last-minute Magic draft prediction ahead of Thursday’s franchise-altering night is that the team uses both these picks and makes the perfect choices that change the team from a perpetually rebuilding organization to a true NBA playoff — and maybe even championship — contender.

The last-minute Magic draft prediction is that the team becomes a contender with the perfect picks

The Magic have lucked into contention on several previous NBA draft nights before. It happened in 1992 when the team took Shaquille O’Neal and in 2004 with Dwight Howard.

Now, it looks like history repeated itself in 2022 when the team took another big man, Duke’s Paolo Banchero, No. 1 overall, even when the consensus was that Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren was a better prospect.

We all know how that has turned out so far.

Holmgren, at 7-foot-1, 195 pounds, missed the entire season with a foot injury. Banchero averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game on his way to winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. And along with Franz Wagner, created a young Magic core that can contend in the future.

All that makes the 2023 NBA Draft incredibly pivotal. Make the right moves with the Nos. 6 and 11 Magic picks, and the team will become a young juggernaut. Make the wrong ones, and the franchise could be back to the drawing board yet again. Worse yet, it could make Panchero and Wagner unhappy and headed for the exit like Shaq and Howard before them.

One NBA draft option for the franchise could be to package these Magic draft picks in a trade and try to get a veteran star or even move up to the No. 2 or 3 selection for Scoot Henderson.

While Henderson is an excellent prospect, the Magic are already rife with small guards, and putting all their eggs in the Henderson basket is risky.

The best move the Magic can make is to make these two selections and nail them, creating a starting five that can grow together in the coming years and turn into a true NBA contender. And who are these two perfect selections? The bold Magic draft prediction here is that taking Arkansas point guard Anthony Black and Kansas forward Gradey Dick are the best moves for Orlando.

In Black, the Magic would get a monstrous, 6-foot-8 PG to run the show and make the team incredibly long and athletic on defense. Black enters the NBA as a pro-ready defender who will shut down opposing guards or even forwards when he enters the league.

There are weaknesses in Black’s game, especially as a scorer, but the Magic don’t necessarily need more primary scoring options with Wagner and Banchero in the fold. Black is an incredible playmaker who will get his stars better shots, and that’s what the team needs more than anything.

The other big need on the Magic right now is outside shooting.

To help with that, the Magic must pick 6-foot-6 Kansas freshman sharpshooter Gradey Dick. The former Jayhawk is the best pure shooter in the 2023 NBA draft. Dick shot over 40% from 3-point range in college, and there is no reason to think he can’t do the same at the NBA level.

Dick has some deficiencies on defense, but with Wagner, Banchero, and (possibly) Anthony Black on the floor with him, those issues won’t be as problematic.

Ultimately, his shooting will open up more space for all his teammates around the floor, and help Orlando become a much more dangerous offensive team. At worst, he will be a solid specialist, ala J.J. Reddick. At best, he can become an all-around shooting star in the mold of Reggie Miller.

If these Magic draft predictions come to fruition, Orlando will boast a starting five of Antony Black, Gradey Dick, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, and either center Wendell Carter or guard Jalen Suggs. That is a lineup that can contend for a playoff spot.

Add to that a bench of Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Cole Anthony, Bol Bol, and Chuma Okeke, with any of them or Jonathan Isaac as potential trade bait, and the Magic will have an incredibly young roster now and in the future.

If Orlando takes Black and Dick in the first round of the NBA draft and they both pan out as expected, the foundation of a playoff team is there, and an NBA championship contender is not out of the question by any means.