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Orlando Magic: 3 reasons they may be cursed

By Luke Duffy

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 02: Jonathan Isaac #1 of the Orlando Magic is helped off the court in a wheelchair after an injury against the Sacramento Kings in the second half of a NBA basketball game at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 2, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 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 Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 02: Jonathan Isaac #1 of the Orlando Magic is helped off the court in a wheelchair after an injury against the Sacramento Kings in the second half of a NBA basketball game at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 2, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 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 Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) /
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Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

1. Injuries

The biggest indicator that the Magic may be cursed is of course injuries, but more so because of the ones that they are enduring right now. In the past, the injuries to Hardaway, McGrady and Grant Hill were devastating in their own way. Horrible to live through and support the organization at that time no doubt.

If none of those three guys gets hurt, all three could have gone on to be top 40 all-time players, and we’re being conservative in that evaluation. The best thing about the Magic in 2020-21, was having seen them endure the worst period of their existence, and yet somehow through a smart front office, make the team fun to root for.

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There was Jonathan Isaac, the fifth overall pick in 2017, and defensive anchor of the future. A terrible knee sprain to start 2020 was bad, and now he’s gone for a year with an ACL tear. Mohamed Bamba, the fifth pick in 2018, has never really gotten going in a Magic uniform. What hasn’t helped are the Covid-19 related issues he has endured for months since getting the illness.

It doesn’t stop there though, as Markelle Fultz, the feel-good story of the entire NBA, the guy who got his jumper, his confidence and his career back, wasn’t even allowed to soar in Florida. He too is done for the year with an ACL tear. In typical Orlando Magic fashion, he went down just as he’d given enough hope to fans that he was for real because he certainly looked it.

To rebuild a roster the right way, both through the draft and by making calculated risks on young talents like Fultz that look to be paying off hugely, only to see all of that wiped away by injury? Heartbreaking. Crushing. Supernatural? That’s for you to decide, but right now, there isn’t a more unfortunate franchise in the NBA, and it will take a lot to change that.

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