The Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic are already on track to be legitimate rivals in the Eastern Conference.
With the East looking to be wide-open for the foreseeable future, many are predicting who its next best team will be. While it could still be the Pacers in the long run, they are in far from an ideal situation next season. However, one team that is moving on up is Orlando, who will be a team to monitor in the conference.
What makes the Magic so interesting is that, not only have they gradually improved over the past couple of seasons, but they are almost like an inverse version of the Pacers. While Indiana started out as a great offensive team that worked its way to becoming a good defensive team, the Magic are doing the complete opposite. Furthermore, both teams are young and follow the same timeline.
At the end of the day, it is safe to assume the Pacers will be back in title contention once Tyrese Haliburton returns from his Achilles injury. There will be plenty of teams for them to keep an eye on, but Orlando may be the most notable one of them all as there is a legitimate chance they are competing against one another for years to come.
Tyrese Haliburton already planted the seeds for a Pacers-Magic rivalry
Back in September 2024, Haliburton made an appearance on an episode of WWE NXT. During his appearance, the Wisconsin native called out the Magic and their fanbase after he and his teammates received boos from the Orlando crowd.
"I get it, I get it. I would boo too if I had to be an Orlando Magic fan. I get it, I get it, " Haliburton said.
This was mostly done in good fun, and that was even more evident considering that this was before the start of last season. However, this moment could still be relevant, especially if both teams go head-to-head in the playoffs as soon as next season.
Regardless, a rivalry between the Pacers and Magic would be incredibly entertaining, mostly because they match up very well against each other. Furthermore, while Indiana had their most successful season in recent history last season, they were 1-3 against the Magic, with all but one game being decided by single digits.
Though they will be without their star guard next season, the Pacers are still in a good position to make some noise and return to the postseason, and the Magic are a team they must keep an eye on as a real threat to their goals of making it back to the NBA Finals.