The All-Time Orlando Magic team is impressive, considering they’ve only been around for 26 years. It helps that they’ve won three NBA draft lotteries, and drafted two future Hall-of-Fame players with those picks (Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard). The other player, acquired through a draft day trade, was a four-time all-star (Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway), and was one of the great ‘what if?’ players of the previous generation. Since they’ve never won a championship, they enter our tournament as the 25th seed, but their high-end talent will provide problems for their first round opponent.
The starting backcourt is enormous, featuring 6’7” Penny Hardaway and 6’8” Tracy McGrady. It’s hard to believe there will be a taller pairing in this tournament, and both were brilliant playmakers during their Magic careers. Penny’s career was cut short by injuries, but he was so effective that he was named to the All-NBA first team in his second and third seasons in the league. T-Mac was an absolute monster, and won two scoring championships in his four years in Orlando. During his Magic tenure, there was a legitimate debate as to who was better between McGrady and Kobe Bryant, and the stats comparison between the two from 2001-2004 illustrates why:
Unfortunately, McGrady was haunted by his inability to escape the first round of the playoffs, while Bryant went to three NBA Finals during that period (winning two). Similar to Hardaway, injuries later curtailed McGrady’s career (while Bryant remained consistent and became one of the greatest players ever), but his Magic tenure cannot be characterized as anything but dominant.
The starting frontcourt is also massive, with 6’10” Rashard Lewis at small forward, 6’11” Dwight Howard at power forward, and 7’1” 325lb Shaquille O’Neal at center. Lewis will provide much needed spacing for this group, while Howard and O’Neal will dominate the glass and protect the paint on defense. Offensively, these two will have to stay out of each other’s way, and their horrendous foul shooting will be a liability down the stretch of close games. Despite these challenges, they should make a great pairing, and they have the ability to dominate most opposing front lines.
The bench is predictably weak, considering the youth of the franchise. Darrell Armstrong and Jameer Nelson are two undersized point guards who get the most out of their physical abilities. Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott will provide more spacing for O’Neal and Howard, while Hedo Turkoglu has the ability to play the 3 or the 4, and run the offense as a point forward. Bo Outlaw and Horace Grant are the backup big men; both will compete defensively and on the glass, but this team might be better served playing Turkolglu or Lewis at the 4 when O’Neal or Howard rests in order to space the floor better.
This will be a very difficult team to coach. Howard, O’Neal, and Hardaway were all known for their immaturity during their Magic tenure. O’Neal once compared Hardaway to Fredo Corleone, and he and Howard engaged in a humiliating feud over a nickname. Grant, Outlaw, Nelson, and Anderson will have to provide veteran leadership for this team to reach its full potential.
Coach: Stan Van Gundy
All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .493