Orlando Magic: All-decade most liked starting 5

Point Guard – Jameer Nelson

There could never be anybody else for this position. Which is a shame because D.J. Augustin hit the biggest shot of the decade for the franchise, and he played any other position on the court he would have made this list. But how can it not be Jameer Nelson? Yes, his time with the Orlando Magic during this decade was brief.

Most of his good work had been done by that point, and in fact, the Magic did the right thing in trading him away in 2014 as they were starting into the worst years of their rebuild. Every time Nelson came back to play against his former team afterwards it felt weird, and really how could you exclude somebody who has this to say about his time in Orlando?

Nelson goes down as one of the most beloved players in franchise history, period. He holds this title despite somehow only averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 assists in 10 seasons with them, but there was that All-Star appearance in 2008-09. We can’t include that here though as it was a different decade, but it still doesn’t matter.

Nelson seemed unfazed by the prospect of knowing that his chance to win a title with the Magic had come and gone. Once other keys guy had left, he transitioned into being a leader for the young players on the team, and in the community. You’ve absolutely forgotten that he played for the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons, but that’s the beauty of Nelson anyway.

Orlando was home for him, and he gave fans something to smile about as they faced into dark days and uncertain times earlier in the decade. Augustin did a lot of this stuff too and had a career year that helped the Magic get back to the playoffs. He too is rightly loved by all, but he’s not on Nelson’s level.

He never could be either, and if you get a better response out of fans than guys like Dwight Howard, you know you have done something right and connected with the fan base in a real way. It is just a shame we can’t turn back time, to watch him do it all again. If we do this list again but move the parameters so that it is all-time most liked starting five, Nelson still makes the list.