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Orlando Magic: All-decade most liked starting 5

By Luke Duffy

NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 30: Jameer Nelson #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans passes the ball around Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic at the Smoothie King Center on October 30, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 30: Jameer Nelson #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans passes the ball around Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic at the Smoothie King Center on October 30, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Center – Khem Birch

A surprising place to start, but the criteria of most liked dictated that Khem Birch should be here over anybody else. Dwight Howard burned his bridges when he left in 2012. Nikola Vucevic has been the Orlando Magic’s most consistent player since around 2014, and the fans that support him (including this writer), do so passionately.

But Vucevic is too divisive a character, with just as many fans believing that he is the reason the Magic have not been able to take the next step. As your best player and having his best season personally he can get you back to the playoffs, nothing more. Birch, on the other hand, is beloved by all, because of how hard he worked to get his opportunity with the Orlando Magic.

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Brought back from overseas in the summer of 2017, Birch spent some time in the G League while struggling to get any game time in a crowded frontcourt. Birch continued to work away, like he always has, eventually getting a real opportunity once Mohamed Bamba went down with a leg fracture just before the All-Star break last season.

From there he was the defensive anchor off the bench that helped power the organization back to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. He was the ideal backup to the more offensive-minded Vucevic, setting hard screens and protecting the paint. His motor and will to get up and down the court infectiously spreading to his teammates too.

The Orlando Magic finished the 2018-19 regular season with a defensive rating of 107.6 (eighth in the NBA). With Birch on the court? That number shrunk to 102.7. From there he went to the FIBA World Cup with Canada, stepping up for his country at a time when so many other top-level players decided not to play.

Inserting him into the starting lineup alongside Vucevic on occasion during this season hasn’t really worked but it doesn’t matter. Birch will do whatever is asked of him, however big or small, and he never kicks up a fuss either way. He embodies what team spirit should be about, and will forever be known as a cult hero in a run to the playoffs. In the last 10 years, nobody at the center position has brought teammates and fans together in the way that he did.

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