ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic suffered through a difficult 21-51 season in 2020-21, and the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night could give the team and its fans hope for the future.

Starting at 8:30 p.m., the NBA will select the teams that receive the top picks in the NBA Draft.

The Magic finished the season with the third-worst record in the league and will share the best odds to win the lottery with the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, the two teams that finished with worse records this season. All three teams will have a 14% chance of landing the top pick and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four. However, all 14 teams who finished outside of the playoffs have at least a very slim chance of moving into the top three draft spots, which would knock down Houston, Detroit and/or Orlando. The Magic can fall no lower than the No. 7 pick.

The 2021 draft class is widely considered in NBA circles to include at least five players who could become All-Stars and franchise cornerstone pieces. 

The Magic lost more games to injury than any other team in the league, including losing forward Jonathan Isaac for the whole 72-game season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Starting point guard Markelle Fultz also tore an ACL and missed all but eight games. Since Orlando was out of the playoff hunt at the trade deadline in March, it made deals sending away its three best players, signaling a long rebuild ahead. The team and coach Steve Clifford reached mutual agreement to part ways shortly after the season, further signaling the team’s commitment to a young and inexperienced roster.

The team's reward could be a chance to select one of the top prospects in the NBA Draft, which would provide a clearer picture to the direction the team will grow.

Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham is widely considered the top prospect in the draft. The 6-foot-8 guard averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in his lone collegiate season.

But many believe USC center Evan Mobley, Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs and G-League Ignite players Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga also have the ability to help a team kickstart their rebuilds.

The Magic, after trading two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic and veteran players Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, are in need of players who can make a major impact and eventually help lead team back to postseason contention and out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

In addition to the Magic's pick, the team could receive a second pick among the top 14 selections as part of the deal it made with the Chicago Bulls for Vucevic. For that to happen, Chicago cannot jump into the top four picks in the draft during the lottery. The Bulls currently have the eighth-best shot at the top pick.

The Magic will be represented at the NBA Draft Lottery when results are revealed by President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman. After Orlando learns where it will pick in the draft and whether it will have two first-round picks, it will have a better idea which players it will be able to select on July 29 to help build the team moving forward.