Orlando Magic: 25 Years, 25 Players

It’s that time of the week again, where we take a break from the rigors of the NBA regular season and celebrate 25 years of the Orlando Magic. The first player we paid homage to here was one Anfernee Hardaway and you can check that out here. In terms of Magic history, it will always be hard to follow that name and that is no different in this case either. In fact, many casual fans will probably not even remember this guy’s time in a Magic jersey, but it certainly had its memories. The player in question is Mike Miller.

Mike Miller performing one of his lesser seen trips to the rim in 2003, after he was traded by the Orlando Magic. (Flickr.com/Schroder+Schombs PR)

Taken fifth overall in the 2000 NBA draft out of Florida, Miller would be drafted to a team that was actually beginning to go places. While they would promptly exits the playoffs at the first hurdle against the Milwaukee Bucks, the general feeling was that this was a team that with a few more pieces could contend for a title once again. The man in the hot seat was a younger Doc Rivers, a head coach they would surely like to have back today. In Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill, the Magic had two All-Star type players in their ranks, albeit two who would both certainly see some time on the treatment table while in Orlando. When Miller arrived, he fit in right away, his three point shooting an instance offensive weapon for the team. In his rookie season, he would shoot a very acceptable .407 from beyond the arc, while also averaging just shy of twelve points a game. He would also become the only player taken that year to play in every game in his maiden campaign, starting 62 of the 82 regular season games.

That season would be an enjoyable one personally for Miller, who would put the pain of losing the 2000 NCAA title game to Michigan State behind him by winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors. He would also be named to the All-Rookie first team, capping off what was a promising start to his professional career. Unfortunately, this would not last for Miller in Orlando and he would be traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2003. There was little he could have done about the situation himself. The team were simply failing to breakthrough and decided moving some pieces around would give them a chance to compete once more. That didn’t work out either, but most Magic fans have a soft spot for the country kid who was always a threat from beyond the arc and took some of the scoring burden off of the real star players on the team such as the aforementioned McGrady.

Miller would go on to win the one award that suited his game perfectly while in Memphis, and that was the sixth man of the year award. Always a scoring threat, it made a lot of sense to bring him off the bench, where he could give opposing second units a real headache with his hot hand. Sadly, though, he has never had an injury free season since that first campaign, and that has sort of gone against him as well. Magic fans remember him well though for what he brought to the team, with this one of many notable memories from that time.

There are plenty more deserving to be on this list, but when talking about the 15 players worth noting since the inception of the Orlando Magic, Miller does deserve his nod. Had he stuck around longer in Orlando, he wouldn’t have been the key to any sort of serious success. When available though, he was always a useful asset who also had a personality it was difficult not to like. This and so much more mean it was very difficult to keep him off this list, and so we celebrate what Mike Miller brought to what was an exciting and young team at that time.

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