Orlando Magic: All-decade most liked starting 5

Shooting guard – Evan Fournier

This one is sure to raise a few eyebrows. After all, Evan Fournier makes up one half of the “Euro Bros” combo with Vucevic, and is as divisive a figure as his Montenegrin teammate. Unlike Vucevic however, who would have made this list if not for the last 18 months Birch had, Fournier’s path to this position is more clear.

Afflalo could have slotted in here as already mentioned, but really there is nobody else who can take this spot away from him. Victor Oladipo? If you think he should have been here, then you have an even shorter memory than you thought. Many fans were happy to see Oladipo traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, they just weren’t happy with what they got back.

Fournier came over in a trade from the Denver Nuggets in 2014, that sent Afflalo the other way. The transition for Fournier was a bumpy one, but in the time he has been in Orlando, he has mostly done exactly what has been needed from him. The roster has always lacked an offensive spark to create for themselves and others.

This was Fournier’s strength, although when things weren’t going well it was easy to scapegoat him as the reason as a result of holding onto the ball too much or insisting on taking the big shots. When Fournier got on hot streaks, however, and he certainly has, then he has been pegged as a franchise savior.

Alongside Vucevic no two players get graded on a more strange curve. If Gordon has a rough couple of weeks, fans take longer to call him out on it. Markelle Fultz could have a bad year, and a lot of people wouldn’t have anything bad to say about him. If Fournier has an off night, then Magic Twitter wants him traded.

Yet despite this he too has always shown the right attitude around getting the team to be as good as it can be. In truth too much is probably asked of Fournier. Imagine if he was the third-best player on a playoff squad. He would be lethal. Instead with the Magic, like many others, he is put into a bigger role than perhaps his skill-set allows for.

Of all the players to suit up for the Magic between 2010 – 2019, Fournier is the only one who could have conceivably made the most and least liked starting five in equal measure. That’s what you get with him. But when he’s on, then he’s unlike anybody that the organization has had, going back to their days of contention with Howard.