The Orlando Magic made their NBA debut as a franchise during the 1989-90 season. Since that time, the organization has built plenty of championship-worthy teams but has failed to do enough to become NBA champions with two appearances in the Finals in 1995 and 2009. During their 35 seasons as a team, the Magic have had numerous players worthy of being considered the greatest to ever play for the organization. These are the former and current players who will make up their all-time GOAT pyramid.
When determining the players who will be on a specific franchise’s GOAt pyramid, we focus solely on what each of those players did for that team and that team only. While they may have had better stops along the way in their career, it holds no bearing on where they stand when it comes to the Orlando Magic. For reference, here are the previous teams we have covered in this manner:
– The Los Angeles Lakers All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Chicago Bulls All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Golden State Warriors All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Boston Celtics All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Detroit Pistons All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Miami Heat All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Houston Rockets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Brooklyn Nets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The New York Knicks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Milwaukee Bucks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Denver Nuggets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Philadelphia 76ers All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Dallas Mavericks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The San Antonio Spurs All-Time GOAT Pyramid
Now that you have seen where other NBA teams stand in their history, it is time to reveal the Orlando Magic’s all-time GOAT pyramid.
Tier 5
Vince Carter, J.J. Redick, Steve Francis, Franz Wagner, Terry Catledge, Reggie Theus, Rony Seikaly, Pat Garrity, Jason Richardson
We start things off on Tier 5 with the players in Orlando Magic history who made a minor impact on this young franchise. The first of these players is Vince Carter who played 97 games for the Magic in 2010 and 2011. In those 97 games, Carter averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game on 43.6% shooting. Carter helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010, which they lost to the Celtics in six games.
J.J. Redick is one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history. He was the 11th overall pick of the Magic in 2006 and remained with the team through the 2013 season. In his six-and-a-half seasons with the Magic, Redick averaged just 9.2 points per game shooting 39.8% from three and 43.2% overall. Redick split his time between the bench and the starting lineup during their run to the 2009 NBA Finals and 2010 Eastern Conference Finals.
Steve Francis was an electrifying athletic point guard in the NBA from 2000 through 2008. After his All-Star days in Houston were done, Francis would be dealt to the Magic in the deal that sent Tracy McGrady to the Rockets. In 124 games, Francis would average 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game with the Magic while shooting 42.6% from the field. Despite his elite play, Francis would not lead the Magic to a playoff appearance during his time there.
Franz Wagner is one of the younger players on this GOAT pyramid and just one of two active players to make the cut. Wagner has been one of the more talented young forwards in the NBA over the last three seasons, averaging 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game in his young career. Although the Magic have yet to make the playoffs during his time with the team, the team is certainly heading in a positive direction with Wagner at the forefront of their turnaround.
Terry Catledge’s career spanned just eight seasons from 1986 through 1993. Four of those seasons would come with the Orlando Magic from 1990 through 1993 before he decided to pursue his career further overseas. Catledge was impressive with Orlando during those four seasons, averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 47.9% shooting. In 1990, his first season with the team, Catledge averaged a career-high 19.4 points per game.
Although he played just one season with the Orlando Magic, it was a memorable one for Reggie Theus in 1990. Theus would play 76 games for the Magic and averaged 18.9 points and 5.4 assists per game on 43.9% shooting. Theus was only 32 years old but one season away from calling it a career after 13 seasons in the NBA.
Rony Seikaly is much more well-known for his days with the Miami Heat early on in his career but he was solid for the Orlando Magic for 121 games in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Seikaly would play 121 games for the Magic and averaged 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. In 1997, he helped the team reach the NBA playoffs with 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game on 50.7% shooting.
Pat Garrity is a name that should be synonymous with the Orlando Magic. Garrity played nine of his 10 professional seasons with the Magic averaging 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 513 games for the franchise. Garrity is fifth in team history in games played and sneaks onto this list due to the sacrifices he made for the franchise for nearly a decade.
The final member of Tier 5 is none other than Jason Richardson. Richardson appeared in 109 games for the Orlando Magic in 2011 and 2012 averaging 12.8 points and 1.1 steals per game during this time. Richardson was far from the athletic specimen he was earlier in his career but was still able to help lead them to playoff appearances each season he was with the team.
Tier 4
Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mike Miller, Darrell Armstrong, Paolo Banchero, Nikola Vucevic
The next tier of Orlando Magic players is when we begin to enter All-Star territory. Starting things off is point guard Jameer Nelson who played for the Magic for a decade from 2005 through 2014. Over those 10 seasons, Nelson averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. In 2009, Nelson helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals and in 2010, helped them reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
Rashard Lewis is one of the most underrated players in NBA history. Lewis played for the Magic from 2008 through 2011 averaging 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. In 2009, Lewis would be an All-Star for Orlando with 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. During that year’s playoffs, he would average 19.0 points per game on 39.4% shooting from three, helping the Magic advance to the NBA playoffs.
Another important member of the late 2000s Magic who were as close as it gets to becoming NBA champions was Hedo Turkoglu. He would play eight total seasons with the Magic from 2005 through 2009 and again from 2011 through 2013. In 2008, Turkoglu was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player with 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while playing all 82 games. In 2009, he helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals with 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game on 42.7% shooting.
Mike Miller is known for being a sniper from both the three-point and free-throw lines. Miller was the fifth overall pick of the Magic in 2000 and would go on to become the Rookie of the Year with 11.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on 40.7% shooting from three. Miller would only play two and a half seasons with the Magic but left his mark as one of just three Rookie of the Year winners in Magic history.
Darrell Armstrong did not make his NBA debut until he was 26 years old with the Orlando Magic in 1994-95. Armstrong played nine seasons with the Magic through 2003 averaging 11.7 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. In 1999, Armstrong would take home Most Improved Player honors with 13.8 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while playing all 50 games thanks to a strike-shortened season.
Paolo Banchero may be a bit premature to have on Tier 4 but it is where I am putting him. Banchero has only completed one full season and has already inserted himself into all-time great conversations for the Magic franchise. In 2022-23, Banchero was named the third Rookie of the Year in Magic history with 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game on 42.7% shooting. If Banchero continues on this trajectory and aids in the complete turnaround of this franchise, he will be much further up on this list in no time.
The final member of Tier 4 is former All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic. From 2013 through 2021, Vucevic was Orlando’s premier player on the court averaging 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game on 49.9% shooting. He would earn two All-Star appearances with the team in 2019 and 2021, averaging 21.3 points and 11.6 rebounds per game during those three years.
Tier 3
Scott Skiles, Grant Hill, Dennis Scott, Horace Grant
Just four players make up Tier 3 of the Orlando Magic’s GOAT Pyramid and what they meant to the franchise can never be erased. The first of these players is point guard Scott Skiles who helped put the franchise on the map during the 1990s. He ranks second in assists in team history for the 2,700-plus dimes he dished out during his five seasons with the team. Skiles is most famous for his NBA-record 30 assists in a game he dished out while wearing a Magic uniform and his 1991 Most Improved Player award he earned with 17.2 points and 8.4 assists per game.
Grant Hill was not the same after the ankle and leg injuries he suffered with the Pistons early in his career but he was still All-Star worthy when he arrived in Orlando in 2001. He earned All-Star selections in 2001 and 2005 with the Magic, averaging 16.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals during his five-plus seasons with the team. Hill helped the Magic navigate the early 2000s, forever leaving his mark on yet another NBA franchise.
Dennis Scott, aka “3D” is easily one of the greatest players in Orlando Magic history. Scott ranks top 10 in Magic history in minutes, games played, points, and steals. Scott played seven seasons for the team from 1991 through 1997 averaging 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. Scott played a massive role in the Magic’s run to the 1995 NBA Finals in which he averaged 14.7 points per game in the playoffs on 41.3% shooting.
The final member of Tier 3 for the Orlando Magic is defensive savant Horace Grant. Coming over from the Chicago Bulls in 1994-95, Grant made an impact immediately with his versatile defensive game and short mid-range jumper that seemingly never missed. Grant would play seven seasons for the Magic from 1995 through 2001 averaging 11.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He helped the Magic reach the 1995 NBA Finals and the playoffs two other times as well.
Tier 2
Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, Nick Anderson
The second Tier of players in Orlando Magic history are among the elite to ever hit the floor for them over the last 35 years. Penny Hardaway was a global sensation during the 1990s, thanks to his riveting ball-handling and scoring ability. His partnership with Shaquille O’Neal made for one of the best duos of the 1990s. If it weren’t for injuries, Hardaway would have been the greatest player in franchise history but still earned four All-Star and four All-NBA Team selections with the team from 1994 through 1999 averaging 19.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
After a lackluster start to his career in Toronto, Tracy McGrady arrived in Orlando in 2000-01. He was immediately named an All-Star and the NBA’s Most Improved Player with 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He would earn four All-Star appearances in four seasons with the team. In 2003 and 2004, McGrady would win the NBA’s scoring title averaging 32.1 and 28.0 points per game, respectively.
Nick Anderson may be infamous for his missed free throws in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals but he meant so much more to the organization. Anderson played 10 seasons for the Magic from 1990 through 1999 averaging 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game on 45.4% shooting. Although he was never an All-Star, Anderson peaked as a 20.0 points per game scorer with over 6.0 rebounds and over 1.5 steals per game. Without his scoring and leadership, they would not make the 1995 NBA Finals.
Tier 1
Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard
Two Orlando Magic big men top their GOAT pyramid for their incredible contributions to the organization over time. Shaquille O’Neal got his start with the Magic from 1993 through 1996, winning Rookie of the Year, four All-Star selections, three All-NBA Team selections, and a scoring title. In four seasons with the team, he averaged 27.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. In 1995, he led the Magic to their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
Many consider Dwight Howard to be the GOAT of the Orlando Magic thanks to his stellar two-way play from 2005 through 2012. During his time with the Magic, Howard averaged 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game on 57.7% shooting. Howard would be named Defensive Player of the Year three times as a member of the Magic, leading the NBA in rebounds four times and in blocks twice. Howard left his mark on the franchise forever with his run to the 2009 Finals averaging 20.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game in the playoffs.
