LAS VEGAS - Those who have played a team sport before at any level know based on their own experience just how critical team chemistry is. One of the main reasons it usually takes a few years before superstar players in the NBA win their first championship is because building chemistry with a supporting cast requires time and patience.
ORLANDO - Since debuting in Polk County in 2017, the Lakeland Magic have won 60 percent of their regular season games (94-63), have reached the playoffs every year and are now the reigning champs after beating the Delaware Blue Coats at Walt Disney World in the title game just last week.
At the helm throughout this now four-year journey has been Stan Heath, a long-time college coach prior to taking the Lakeland job. Just as he did at every stop in the college ranks, the now 56-year-old has excelled at developing young talent and getting players, all of whom hoping to land contracts with NBA clubs, to jell and play team-first basketball.
ORLANDO - In their inaugural 2017-18 season, the Lakeland Magic reached the postseason. The very next year, they appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now in 2021, after the G League was denied a playoffs in 2020 because of the pandemic, Lakeland has taken another major step forward by advancing to the championship game.