The Orlando Magic have had a tough road back to Eastern Conference relevance following the departure of center Dwight Howard. However, the Magic have quietly put together a solid squad led by point guard Elfrid Payton and forward Aaron Gordon.

In fact, Gordon has so much confidence in Orlando that he has promised they will make playoffs this upcoming 2017-18 NBA season, according to Avery Yang of SportTechie:

“I’m looking to lead and be led to the playoffs with my team,” Gordon said. “It’s going to take a collective team effort but yeah — we’ll be in the playoffs this year.”

While Gordon's comments may be a bit bold considering the Magic's struggles in recent years, making the playoffs in a depleted Eastern Conference is not too farfetched for any team at this point. Especially one with enough young talent like Orlando has.

In order to do so, the Magic will need their former lottery pick to finally have a breakthrough season. Despite his massive frame and freakish athleticism, Gordon has had some trouble adjusting to the pro level.

However, he did enjoy his best season by far last year after averaging 12.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. With Orlando's balance of young talent and savvy veterans, they could very well be on their way to their first playoff berth since the 2011-12 NBA season.