If the Orlando Magic were one of the surprise packages of 2018-19 then D.J. Augustin was their most surprising player.
The 2018-19 season will go down as one of the better ones in Orlando Magic history. Not only did they make a surprising run to the postseason, but they were competitive and fun to watch as well. Perhaps no player better encapsulates 2018-19 better than D.J. Augustin.
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Thought of as backup for most of his career to that point, Augustin, through sheer lack of depth on the roster, started all 81 games he appeared.
By the time the regular season was out nobody could argue that he had done a poor job either. Season averages of 11.7 points and 5.3 hovered around career bests and were better than anything he had produced in his previous two seasons in Orlando.
Augustin saved his best moment for last though, producing a game-winning shot in Game 1 of their first round series against the Toronto Raptors.
We all know how that matchup ultimately went, but to be 1-0 against the eventual champions was as good as it’s been in Orlando since 2012. Augustin was more than just somebody for the big occasions however, as behind Nikola Vucevic, himself an All-Star, he was arguably the most consistent player the Magic had all season.
It didn’t appear to be an ideal situation to have Augustin start at the beginning of the year but looking back Augustin was the perfect player to have in that moment. A steady veteran hand to feed their young players, while being unselfish in going after his own shots and numbers.
This allowed guys like Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac to prosper and the experience will stand to them as their careers continue.
He was never afraid to shoot when called upon though, and balanced doing both perfectly. As an undersized floor general on the wrong side of 30, the outlook didn’t look good for Augustin to take on such a big load.
Instead he proved he was capable of all of that and more and they will be glad to have him back this coming campaign to help Markelle Fultz through his first steps in the pinstriped blue.