The Orlando Magic’s 2025-26 season ended in disappointing fashion as they choked away a 3-1 lead in their opening round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons. It marked the third consecutive season that the Magic were eliminated in the opening round, and Jalen Suggs made sure to apologize to the fans during Media Day on Monday, as per Brandon Kravitz of 96.9 The Game.
“I was very eager to come back, improve myself and get some redemption, not only to the league to come back and put some more good product out there, but for the fans and for the city,” Suggs said. “I feel like I’ve been here so long, I’ve invested so much that, that was just a misrepresentation of who I am and who we are. This is a public apology … that was unacceptable. We talk about the standards that we want to uphold and the places we want to go, and that was not that.
“I took that very harsh, I know a lot of us did on that squad, and that’s why I said I think this summer was very personal.”
Article Continues BelowIn the aftermath of the Magic’s playoff loss to the Pistons, the organization fired Jamahl Mosley and brought in Sean Sweeney as the new head coach.
During that series, Suggs saw a sharp decline in his shooting efficiency. He did average 11.1 points, just shy of his 13.8 in the regular season. But it was on 29.9 percent shooting from the field and 24.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line.
In the regular season, his shooting numbers were at 43.5 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from the 3-point line. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Suggs is coming into his sixth season with the Magic.