Orlando Magic: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

8. Winning the season series vs. the Miami Heat

For years, the Miami Heat had been the better team in Florida, and even though there was cautious optimism that the Magic could close the gap heading into the season, they still weren’t favored to take the season series over them, let alone keep them out of the playoffs with a late-season win.

They managed to do both, finishing the season 3-1 against their state rivals, while also putting a dent in their playoff hopes with a 104-99 win at the end of March. As an added bonus, this also meant that Dwyane Wade failed to make the postseason in his last year as a pro.

The Heat easily won the decade against the Magic no matter what happens next year. Signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh and winning two championships with four straight NBA Finals appearances already assures them of that.

So to play spoiler and enjoy a postseason run at the expense of the Heat was a fun turn of events. Of the three games won, none was as important as that fourth meeting, which put some daylight between the two in the standings. Other than that, the 15-point win in Miami in December when this group was still finding its footing was enjoyable to watch too.