Orlando Magic: 2017-18 player grades for Nikola Vucevic
By Luke Duffy
The Orlando Magic endured another tough season full of losses. Yet Nikola Vucevic was still there for the team, doing what he always has.
While the Orlando Magic entered 2017-18 with some new faces and a renewed sense of optimism, they still needed the players already on the team to step up as well. Chief among them was Nikola Vucevic, the often-maligned center with an underrated offensive game.
Although fellow big man Bismack Biyombo was seen as the defensive anchor, Vucevic still figured to be the starter despite making less money.
Really though, spending over $30 million on two big men on opposite ends of the scale was always going to be difficult to incorporate in to a winning team.
Although injuries hampered Vucevic’s 2017-18 campaign like so many others on this roster, he still played like fans had come to expect over this prolonged rebuild.
The difference now, however, is that this seemed to no longer be enough for the fans, who have largely turned on Vucevic and see him as an “empty stats” kind of player.
Heading in to an unsure offseason with the organization, have we seen the last of him in a Magic uniform?