The Orlando Magic have felt like the destination spot for some of the best centers in the league in recent years. From Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard, and Nikola Vucevic, the Magic have had a star in the middle in three different decades. With that said, there have been some solid guards along the way, which seems to be the direction the team is taking today.
- GOAT Of The Franchise: Dwight Howard
- Rookie Of The Franchise: Shaquille O’Neal
- Offensive Player Of The Franchise: Tracy McGrady
- Defensive Player Of The Franchise: Dwight Howard
- Coach Of The Franchise: Stan Van Gundy
- Fan Favorite: Penny Hardaway
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While the Magic remain without a championship, the team has made two appearances in the NBA Finals. There were times this team was in the national spotlight because of the star power that made up the roster. When looking back at the team’s best, these players deserve the following franchise awards.
GOAT Of The Franchise: Dwight Howard
Howard owns three of the five major records in the team’s history. He is the all-time leading scorer with 11,435 points and rebounder with 8.072. He holds a significant margin of lead over both Nick Anderson and Nikola Vucevic in those respective categories. Defensively, Howard leads the franchise all-time in blocks with 1,344.
Howard is also the leader in minutes played, free throws, offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds. His 87.5 win shares are over 30 more than Anderson, while he is the all-time leader in both offensive and defensive win shares in team history. Howard led the team to the NBA Finals in 2009, which is their last appearance in the championship.
Rookie Of The Franchise: Shaquille O’Neal
When the Magic drafted O’Neal with the No.1 overall pick, they knew they were getting a special player. O’Neal had a sensational rookie season where he averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks. O’Neal was selected to play in the All-Star Game where he started as the team’s center.
Out of the rookies in team history, O’Neal’s season remains the best. Howard’s first year in the league saw him average 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. Those are not bad numbers, but O’Neal was just on another level at the time. His season was the type of year some veterans have in their prime. O’Neal did it in his first year in the league.
Offensive Player Of The Franchise: Tracy McGrady
The 28.8 points per game average that McGrady had while wearing a Magic uniform remains the best in the team’s history. McGrady played for the Magic for four seasons and still scored the fourth-most points in team history. When McGrady left the Magic, he was second all-time and has since been passed by both Howard and Vucevic.
McGrady won two scoring titles while playing for the Magic. Those teams heavily relied on McGrady. His 32.7% career usage rate with the Magic remains the most of all time. Despite having the pressure of scoring in high abundance, McGrady always came through. His best seasons were when he averaged 32.1 and 28.0 points per game in 2003 and 2004.
Defensive Player Of The Franchise: Dwight Howard
Howard is tied with Rudy Gobert with three Defensive Player of the Year Awards. During those years in the late 2000s, Howard was a feared member of the post. Howard led the league in blocks two times in his career with 2.9 and 2.8 in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
According to the advanced stats, Howard remains the top defensive player in team history. He holds the highest defensive rebounding percentage, defensive rating, and defensive win shares, and holds the highest value over a replacement player. Combine that with his top defensive awards, he has a pretty solid resume.
Coach Of The Franchise: Stan Van Gundy
While Brian Hill owns the most coaching wins in team history, it’s Stan Van Gundy that owns the highest winning percentage. His .657 winning percentage is the top in team history. Hill finished with 267 wins while Van Gundy was right behind with 259 wins. In the playoffs, Van Gundy owns more playoff wins with 31 in comparison to Hill’s 18.
There is a perception that the Magic was seen as a Finals contender when Michael Jordan was out of the league with O’Neal on the team. The combination of O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, and Nick Anderson was seen as a solid core. Meanwhile, Howard was paired with Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu. Nobody expected their Finals run in 2009, so it makes what Van Gundy did that season a tad more special.
Fan Favorite: Penny Hardaway
Speaking of Nelson and Turkoglu, you could make a case that these players were both fan favorites. Nelson finished as the all-time leader in steals. Anderson had a swagger to him that led to him leading the franchise in points and steals. In the end, Hardaway was a true “Robin” to O’Neal during those contending years but had the mantra to be Batman at any time.
Hardaway was an All-Star that could make strong moves to the basket and find the open man. If Shaq was the team’s Michael Jordan, then Hardaway was Scottie Pippen. Hardaway was a solid two-way player as his 1.9 career steals with the Magic remains the top in team history. All in all, Hardaway had everything that you would like in a basketball player.
Credit for an idea: Court Coverage/Instagram
