Georgian Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze opens up on re-signing: "I was really struggling in Indiana" (Exclusive)

Although they take pride in challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in a competitive first-round playoff series, the Orlando Magic have bigger aspirations for the 2024-25 campaign.

“Our goal is not just to get out of the first round,” Magic center Goga Bitadze told Sportskeeda. “We have to think about each and every game and not got get ahead of ourselves. But everybody’s goal is to get to the end.”

Of course, the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Cavaliers might have strong rebuttals. But the Magic believe they have their own case with an All-Star (Paolo Banchero), newly acquired veterans (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cory Joseph) and a strong young core (Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, Bitadze).

Bitadze also argued that the Magic have a strong working environment that makes both star and role players feel empowered to play at their best.

That marks one of many reasons why Bitadze agreed to a three-year, $25 million contract as a free agent this offseason. Bitadze spoke to Sportskeeda about that deal, his love for the Magic after the Indiana Pacers waived him in 2023, Banchero’s stardom and his native Georgia’s struggles in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Orlando Magic's Goga Bitadze talks to Mark Medina

The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed.

Congratulations on your deal. From your perspective, how did this all work out?

Goga Bitadze: “It’s a huge business in the NBA. It’s basketball, and a sport we love. But other than that, it’s life, too. I was in Indiana and got waived by them, so it’s hard for you mental wise. This deal really gave me really a different perspective about the league. I had a different mindset about how everything was. I thought everywhere would be the same. But my family was really worried. You’re anxious. You obviously know you belong here, but then you get waived. But all of a sudden, I come here and it totally changes my life.

"I got my joy back from basketball. I go out there and help the team get wins and play well. People notice that. People notice how hard I work. So it means a lot for my family and for us. It’s a lot of money, obviously. It’s good, and it helps with everything. But I proved to myself that I belong here. I was able to make this happen. I’m very grateful for this team.”

What was the market like for you?

Goga Bitadze: “The market for bigs was huge this year. Some big fellas are hurt. But there were some teams, for sure, that had interest. But our main goal was to stay here with this team, these guys and this organization because they have done so much for me.

"I feel like I have to give back to them and bring myself back here. It was a super easy decision. My agent and I were on the same page. We were super excited that Orlando had interest in us, too. They gave us this offer, and it was a really easy decision.”

Which other teams showed interest?

Goga Bitadze: “My agent told me a couple of other teams showed interest, but I don’t know the exact teams. He told me the offers. There were some good offers, obviously. But at the end of the day, this is good money. Maybe you can get a little bit more money [elsewhere]. But staying here was the main goal. We really wanted to stay here. We made it happen. It’s really good.”

To that point, what have the Magic meant to you considering they picked you up off of waivers and you’ve been able to carve out a good role there?

Goga Bitadze: “I was really struggling in Indiana. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. I knew I deserved to play. But there’s a lot going on, and I didn’t know what was going to happen. When they told me that I got waived, I was happy because it was really hard staying there. For 3 ½ years, I was in and out and hurt. I was kind of happy. But all of a sudden, I don’t know what’s going to happen.

"My agent from Europe texted me and said, ‘Maybe we can consider coming to Europe. We’ll weigh all the options.’ I thought, ‘Okay, wherever I play and whichever team wants, I’ll get that joy back. So that’s where I’m going to go.’ But then I get a call from my agent here and he’s like, ‘There’s a possibility that Orlando is going to pick you up off of waivers.’"

Goga Bitadze continued:

"I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that the city had good weather and they had a young team. When I got here, everything changed with how they look at you, how hard they work with you and how much they appreciate your hard work. It’s a great organization. I wish anybody out there could come and see one day what it’s like to be with the Orlando Magic. It’s such an honor and such a joy in life. You wake up feeling happy. You know you’re going to do a job and play basketball – a sport that you love. People around there are there to help you and are there to support you. They’re there to make your life easier and make your life better.

"You feel like you have to pay it back. You pay it back by playing hard and working hard. It’s a perfect mixture and balance in life. It is so much easier to go through it. This is a hard season. They make it really easy for us.”

Can you give a peek behind the curtain on what the organization, coaches and teammates have done to make you feel empowered in an enjoyable working environment?

Goga Bitadze: “I don’t know where to start. It’s everything. When you talk with management, coaches and teammates every single day, they tell you everything. Before, I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. But they tell you the details you need to work on and the stuff you need to work on and the stuff you need to work. Every single day, Coach [Jamahl] Mosley is asking me if my family is good. So does every other coach. They ask, ‘How’s your family? Is your family coming over? Is everything okay?’ They picked me off waivers. They don’t have to treat me like this. The league works this way: if you’re a big-time player, you get treated better. But here, everybody gets treated the same. It’s a perfect place.

"Overall, teammates and staff all love each other. We all love being able to spend some time outside of basketball, on the court and in practices together. Hopefully, somebody records one of our practices. It is so much fun. There are so many great competitors. It’s great and an honor to be here. There is a lot of hard work with players and everybody in the organization. From top to bottom, everybody is all about winning and getting better and building this team. It’s an honor to be a part of this.”

When Wendell Carter Jr. had some injuries last season, you stepped right in and produced really well. Why do you think you were ready for that role?

Goga Bitadze:

“First of all, it was trust from the coach. I was a third-string center and just got there for half a season. Then all of a sudden, the starting center gets hurt and everybody is worried. Obviously, he’s a big-time player and we really need him on the team. He’s a big part of our team. So when he goes down, I was expecting Mo [Bamba] to be starting. But all of a sudden, coach trusted in me and puts me in the starting lineup. All I had to do was really show up.

"It’s hard, to be honest, to go from not playing to starting. But I knew in my head that I would be able to do this. I was really trying to help the team win. I didn’t do too much. I hit some shots. But all that was in my head was to help this team win. They noticed it. We went on a nine-game winning streak, which helped us get into the playoffs. It was a great experience. It was also great to see that everybody was happy. Everybody was so happy about me playing well. It was amazing.”

What have been the keys to becoming a pretty good shot blocker?

Goga Bitadze: “All of my life, I’ve been a pretty good shot blocker. A lot of it is timing. We really pay attention to that. Teams go get to the rim, and our guards are really aggressive from the 3-point line. When they get to the rim, they all know that we got their back with me and Jonathan Isaac. We are all good shot blockers.

"They know that we got their back, and it’s very important for our team to challenge those shots and contest those shots. We’re then able to get out and run. That helps our transition offense. But me personally. I’m not scared. When somebody goes in and tries to duck on me, I’m not scared. I try to go out there and challenge every single shot.”

Which big men have you tried to model your game after?

Goga Bitadze: “Growing up, I didn’t really watch a lot of NBA [games]. There was the time difference. They don’t always show the games. So I didn’t get the chance to see some games. But I used to love Kevin Garnett and Ben Wallace. There are plenty of them, but there wasn’t one single guy I tried to model my game after.”

Garnett and Wallace were great players. But why did they resonate with you specifically?

Goga Bitadze: “Just their toughness and their passion for the game. They had that mentality of a dog. They were going out there to win every single game. They were dogs on the court and gave 110%. They left everything on the court.”

Heading into the season, what’s been both the coaching feedback and your own evaluation on how you take your game to the next level and be part of the playoff rotation?

Goga Bitadze: “We’re looking forward to me stretching the floor and me hitting some shots from 3-point land. I’ve done that before. It hasn’t been consistent. So I’m trying to catch that consistency with my 3-point shooting. That will really, really help the team and help me make a step forward in my game.

"I also will be in better shape and more explosive. My body feels good. I’m in the best shape of my life. So it’s 3-point shooting mostly, being aggressive and spacing the floor. We have great players that attack the rim well. So I got to know the spacing. That’s pretty much it.”

I know you spent part of your offseason playing in Olympic qualifying. But what else did you do this offseason to prepare for the bigger shooting role and improving your conditioning?

Goga Bitadze: “I did a lot of preparation for the Olympic qualifiers. We prepared for it for about a month. So we had a lot of time. We did a lot of 5-on-5 stuff. But after it was done, I kept working out. I was working on my shots. Hopefully it translates. I’m going to keep working on it. Other than that, I was running and doing a lot of conditioning drills and lifting. I’m ready to go.”

What do you take away from Georgia’s stint in Olympic qualifying and not being able to advance?

Goga Bitadze: “We played some tough teams. Latvia was the host, and they were playing at home. They gave everything they had. It was a tough game. There were so many mistakes made. Teams like Latvia are going to punish you for that. We had two games, and we had to win both. We didn’t win both of them, so we were out. Everybody has to be on the same page.

"When you play for your country, you give everything you have. We didn’t do that. Everybody, counting myself. We didn’t do that at the highest level. So we didn’t get the wins.”

That game against the Philippines was so bizarre because of the point differential implications (Georgia needed to win by at least 19 points to advance and subsequently needed to force overtime). You tried to score on their basket to force overtime, and your shot didn’t go in. How did you process that bizarre moment?

Goga Bitadze:

“We had to win by more than 19 points, I think, and we started out with a 19-0 lead. But the Philippines, man, are a great team. They made like every shot. They made every tough, contested shot. Even if my shot went in [at the end], it wouldn’t have counted. In Europe, you can’t touch the basketball around the rim. We would’ve had to win by 20 points in overtime, which is pretty much impossible. There was a thought in my head. I didn’t know what to do, but there was nothing that we could do.”

Looking ahead to this upcoming season. In light of the Magic challenging Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs, how do think you all can build off of that?

Goga Bitadze: “We have some veteran leadership with KCP and Cory Joseph coming in here. They are going to help us. We were already serious about every game, but we can take a little step forward not to let any games get away. We lost one game against Charlotte at the end of the season that could’ve changed the seedings.

"We could’ve had home-court advantage. We have to take every game like it’s Game 7. We need all of those. The ones you lose and easy ones you think you can go and get it, it doesn’t work that way. This is the best league in the world. Nobody is going to let you get away with any wins. Everybody is going out there to win every single night."

Goga Bitadze added:

"We have to make sure we don’t give away any easy ones or have any ‘trap games’ when you think they’re a better team and, all of a sudden, they come out and play their minds out. If you lose, that will hurt at the end of the season. We have to be really mature about each and every possession of all the games. I think the veteran leadership will help us with that. I have also been in the league for a while now. I have to make sure that guys are ready. I know they will be ready. Sometimes extra works helps.”

What’s your outlook on whether the Magic can make a serious run considering how crowded the Eastern Conference landscape is?

Goga Bitadze: “We have to outwork everybody. We know this. We’re working really hard. Even last year, we got on the court and knew we could beat anybody. Our goal is not just to get out of the first round. We have to think about each and every game and not get ahead of ourselves. But everybody’s goal is to get to the end.

"We keep talking about June. That’s what we’re trying to get and that’s where we want to be. I think we are able to do this. If we do what is necessary and needed and also stay healthy, that will be huge for our team. We’ve had so many injuries with guys. Hopefully everybody is healthy through the postseason. I think we can go as far as we can.”

One factor that will help is that you all have one of the NBA’s young stars with Paolo. What have you seen in his growth?

Goga Bitadze: “That guy doesn’t get enough credit. This guy, what he has done at his age, is insane. He’s incredible. His work ethic is so great. You look at him as a young kid, but he is so dedicated to this. Even if you tell him something like he’s a star player, he’s like, ‘Okay, whatever.’ It’s not that he doesn’t care or doesn’t pay attention. But he’s trying to pay attention to his work. His growth game-to-game is incredible. No one is stopping Paolo one-on-one. We haven’t seen anybody stop Paolo one-on-one.

"We’ve been working on spacing the floor. Everyone knows where to go when that double team comes. That says a lot about Paolo that nobody is able to guard him one-on-one. He gets so much attention from the defense that I get easy dunks from Paolo so many times. Everybody gets open looks from Paolo. It’s really exciting to see what the ceiling is for him. He’s looking even better now. I’ve seen him in practices. I’m really excited to see him play.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda.. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.