Orlando Magic: 25 Best Players To Play For The Magic
By Phil Watson
The Orlando Magic began play in the NBA for the 1989-90 season and have two NBA Finals appearances under their belt. So who are their 25 best players?
The Orlando Magic came into being in 1985, when a group led by Orlando businessman Jim Hewitt and former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Pat Williams put together a bid to pitch the city to the NBA as a prospective expansion club.
In 1987, Orlando was one of four cities awarded a franchise, along with Charlotte, Miami and Minneapolis, with the Orlando Magic set to begin play in the 1989-90 season.
It wasn’t until the franchise’s sixth season, 1993-94, that the Magic made the playoffs for the first time, but in 1994-95, Orlando reached its first NBA Finals, where the Magic were swept by the Houston Rockets.
Orlando returned to the Finals a second time in 2008-09, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
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In 27 seasons, the Magic have made 14 playoff appearances, including a franchise-record six straight seasons from 2006-07 through 2011-12, also the last time the team made the playoffs.
The franchise has a record of 1,062-1,104 overall. Its winningest season was 1995-96, when the Magic were 60-22 but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Chicago Bulls.
Its expansion season of 1989-90 remains the worst record for the club, with Orlando finishing 18-64 in its inaugural go around.
Williams was the longest serving personnel decision-maker, assuming the role when the franchise was awarded in 1987 and continuing until April 1996.
His successor, John Gabriel, was on the job from April 1996 through March 2004 and Otis Smith also had a lengthy tenure, from March 2005 through May 2012.
Current general manager Rob Hennigan took his post in June 2012.
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Brian Hill is the team’s winningest coach, with a record of 267-192 in two stints, the first from 1993-94 through the first 49 games of the 1996-97 season and a second tour of duty in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Stan Van Gundy posted a record of 259-135 from 2007-08 through 2011-12.
Orlando will have its 12th coach this season after hiring former Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel on May 19, 2016.
Original Magic member Scott Skiles served one season as hjead coach, resigning May 12, 2016, after leading Orlando to a 35-47 mark that led to the Magic missing the postseason for the fourth straight year.
The team played at the Orlando Arena from 1989 through 1999, when the building was renamed the TD Waterhouse Centre.
In 2006, the naming rights were again sold and the facility became known as Amway Arena until the Magic left after the 2009-10 season. The arena was demolished in March 2012.
Since then, the team has played in the Amway Center, which opened Oct. 1, 2010.
So who are the 25 best players ever to wear the blue, silver, black and white of the Magic? Only time spent with the Magic is considered and players had to play a minimum of 150 games and average at least 20 minutes per game to be on the list.
Here are the Magic’s 25 best players of all-time:
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