13 Best Players In Orlando Magic History

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• The Orlando Magic don't have a lot of history behind them; the franchise joined the NBA in 1989. Though they've yet to capture an NBA Championship, they are one of the most successful expansion teams in the league. They've reached the NBA Finals twice in their history, once in 1995 and then again in 2009.

Highlights

• The Orlando Magic have yet to win an NBA Championship since joining the league in 1989, but they are one of the most successful expansion teams.
• Several players have had their best performances with the Magic, including Jameer Nelson, Dennis Scott, Scott Skiles, Grant Hill, Rashard Lewis, Horace Grant, Hedo Turkoglu, Nick Anderson, Nikola Vucevic, Penny Hardaway, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady, and Shaquille O'Neal.
• Shaquille O'Neal's departure from the Magic in free agency remains a significant "what if" moment in NBA history, but his impact on the franchise is unmatched.

Orlando Magic fans are still hoping to win their first NBA Championship after joining the league in the late 1980s. The recent years have seen Orlando becoming a bottom-tier team with few chances at success beyond a first-round playoff exit. Magic teams had a few short windows of contending for titles with relevant names at the forefront.

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An argument can be made for Orlando having the greatest overall talent for a franchise that never won an NBA Championship. Quite a few legendary talents could claim the Magic as the place where they were at their absolute best. The players in question will be featured and celebrated for their place In franchise history.

UPDATE: 2023/10/16 18:00 EST BY LIZZY FLANAGAN

The Orlando Magic don't have a lot of history behind them; the franchise joined the NBA in 1989. Though they've yet to capture an NBA Championship, they are one of the most successful expansion teams in the league. They've reached the NBA Finals twice in their history, once in 1995 and then again in 2009.

Currently, the Magic rank in the bottom half of the league and haven't been able to garner a lot of momentum. Still, they have a lot of phenomenal players to look up to and hopefully draw inspiration from in the coming seasons.

13 Jameer Nelson

Jameer Nelson spent a decade playing for the Orlando Magic. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2004 and traded to the Magic very shortly after. Nelson helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. He was voted into the NBA All-Star game in 2009, as well, speaking to his notoriety throughout the league.

Many fans were skeptical of Nelson's ability due to his height; at just 6'0" Nelson is well below average for the NBA, even for a modern-day point guard. However, Nelson proved his doubters wrong soon enough.

12 Dennis Scott

Dennis Scott played for the Orlando Magic from 1990 to 1997. Given that he stands at 6'8," fans might assume he was most known for his rebounding or defensive skills. In reality, though, Scott's greatest asset was his shooting ability. During his time with the Magic, Scott averaged a 40.3 3FG%, making him the ideal complement to his teammate Shaquille O'Neal.

11 Scott Skiles

Though he was often overshadowed by other great point guards of his time, namely John Stockton and Tim Hardaway, Scott Skiles was an incredibly valuable asset to the Orlando Magic during his seven-year tenure. He was a brilliant orchestrator on the court and a surprisingly efficient scorer for someone who's just 6'1". To this day, Skiles holds the NBA record for most assists in a game with 30 total. Skiles went on to serve as head coach for the Orlando Magic.

10 Grant Hill

Grant Hill ended up being a failed signing for the Orlando Magic due to injuries, but he still did enough to just crack the top ten players. A shorter franchise history for Orlando made the depth of all-time greats weaker than other franchises.

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The Magic witnessed Hill make three All-Star appearances during his seven-year stint on the team. Five of the seven seasons featured Hill playing less than 30 games, but he contributed to his best whenever he was on the court. Hill fell from a budding superstar to a role player rather quickly.

9 Rashard Lewis

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The Orlando Magic witnessed Rashard Lewis becoming an underrated game-changer for their franchise. Lewis ended a great run with the Seattle SuperSonics by signing with Orlando for a huge contract. The team improved from a decent East seed to a title contender.

Lewis made one All-Star team and was part of the most recent core to even contend for a title. Orlando saw Lewis becoming the second-leading scorer and one of the most important parts of that tier. Lewis diminished at the end of the contract, but he certainly thrived in the first few years.

8 Horace Grant

Horace Grant was never a superstar for the Orlando Magic nor did he ever average more than 14 points or 9 rebounds for the team. However, it was the impact and value that he added outside of counting stats that helped them dramatically.

Grant came over in free agency after winning three NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls. The team got past the Bulls in Michael Jordan’s first postseason back from retirement and even lifted Grant in the air in celebration. Orlando never won the title they wanted, but Grant got them to the point of even having a chance.

7 Hedo Turkoglu

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Another unlikely missing piece for one of the greater Orlando Magic cores was Hedo Turkoglu. The solid role player contributed in every area of the game, but he wasn’t considered a game-changer until he signed with the Magic.

Orlando improved more and more each season during Turkoglu’s five years with the squad. The final season of Hedo’s run saw them making the 2009 NBA Finals before falling short to the Los Angeles Lakers. Many fans believe the Magic never made another final due to Turkoglu leaving that summer.

6 Nick Anderson

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Nick Anderson spent most of his career with the Orlando Magic as a valued role player. The earlier years of Anderson’s tenure saw him as the third option behind superstars Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. Even though it was less pressure than a superstar, Anderson was pivotal to their success.

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Orlando fans will sadly always remember the low point of Anderson missing four clutch NBA Finals free throws that ultimately lost them the game and series. Anderson was never the same mentally, but he did always thrive as a noteworthy role player for the Magic.

5 Nikola Vucevic

The Orlando Magic surprisingly won the Dwight Howard four-team trade when they received Nikola Vucevic in return. Even though the team never contended again since then, Vucevic became their best player for most of his eight-and-a-half seasons with the team.

The center continued improving and even made two All-Star teams with the franchise as the only player to accomplish that after Howard. Vucevic ended up getting traded when Orlando wanted to fully rebuild, but he’s the team’s biggest success story in recent years.

4 Penny Hardaway

Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway may still be the most beloved player in the franchise history of the Orlando Magic due to his connection with the fans. The peak of Hardaway all came in Orlando where he was among the most must-watch players in the league.

Four consecutive All-Star appearances and three All-NBA selections showed how great Hardaway was in his prime. Penny’s career fell off quickly due to injuries, but he is considered a legend to the Orlando franchise that still shows huge love today.

3 Dwight Howard

The Orlando Magic drafting Dwight Howard out of high school turned out to be a great move that changed their franchise. Howard was considered the best center in the league for most of his tenure there, after Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming fell off due to injuries and age.

Orlando witnessed Howard starting most of his six All-Star appearances as part of the Magic franchise. Dwight dominated defensively and was still among the better offensive players. Unfortunately, Howard’s desire to leave the team saw him bouncing around the league with no fan base loving him as the Magic did.

2 Tracy McGrady

Only fans to watch in the moment will truly appreciate how dominant of an offensive player Tracy McGrady was for the Orlando Magic. A bold move saw Orlando signing McGrady to a large contract after a few years as a role player behind Vince Carter on the Toronto Raptors.

McGrady made the All-Star team every season of his four years for the Magic franchise. The mind-boggling stats saw T-Mac even averaging 32.1 points one season. There was even some chatter over McGrady passing Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson as the top offensive player in the league for Orlando.

1 Shaquille O'Neal

One of the biggest “what if” scenarios in NBA history is what if Shaquille O’Neal stayed with the Orlando Magic in free agency instead of leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers. Even with his stint ending abruptly, no one impacted the Magic franchise more than O’Neal.

Orlando only had Shaq on the roster for his first four seasons, but he put up dominant numbers each year. The short tenure also gave the Magic their most realistic chance at winning a title until things fell apart. Shaq’s numbers are still second to none with his impact standing out most among all Magic players.