Hoops Habit
Fansided

Orlando Magic: Top 3 players so far this season

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 5: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic watches film before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 5, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 5: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic watches film before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 5, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

1. Nikola Vucevic

Did you really expect anybody else to take this spot? For another year, Nikola Vucevic looks like he is going to lead the Magic in various statistical categories. While that is great for him personally, especially as an unrestricted free agent next summer, it again raises some questions.

For years now, Vucevic has been the Magic’s best player, yet in that span they have won more than 30 games just once. So the concern will always be that, with Vucevic as their best player, they are not destined to go very far.

With that being said, the center now has more help than ever before, with the two players mentioned above, Isaac and Fournier, and also rookie Mohamed Bamba for all of his defensive potential.

Of the Magic’s 10 games so far, Vucevic has led the team in scoring four times, rebounds six times and, most impressively of all, assists twice. His PER of 25.9 is not only by far the best mark in Orlando (next-best is Bamba with 16.4), it is also the best number of his career and the 14th-best PER in the entire league.

Given that this is a good indicator of how a player is positively impacting their team out on the court in all areas, that is great news for Vucevic and the Magic (he is ahead of players like James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook on this list).

Of players who have played more five or more games for the Magic, he also leads them in the following areas;

  • Points per game: 17.9
  • Rebounds per game: 10.5
  • 3-point shooting percentage: 52.9 percent
  • Effective field goal percentage: 57.6 percent

Despite all of these impressive numbers, Vucevic doesn’t even lead Orlando in usage rate (second, 24.9) or minutes per game (third, 29.2). It’s further proof that he is being efficient with all that he brings to the table.

Next. Week 4 NBA Power Rankings. dark

Now that the Magic have recovered from falling to 2-6 with back-to-back wins, we can also say that he has been an integral part of their attempts to get back to .500 again. Nobody is coming close to Vucevic on this list for some time by the looks of things, and it’s easy to see why.

Home/Orlando Magic