Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic’s All-Star nod a triumph

If you’re an Orlando Magic, and kudos to you for sticking through another disappointing season, then you are well aware that this has not been the season that was promised. Despite early signs that the organization would not only make it back to the postseason but put up more of a fight, a litany of injuries derailed that train before it ever really got going.

What we’ve been left with instead is a desire to see the Magic actually tank the year, so as to get a high draft pick in this year’s class. One that is being talked about as one of the better crops of youngsters in recent years. Don’t tell head coach Steve Clifford that however, as alongside a veteran group of players, he is still trying hard to win games.

Amongst the negativity and longing for days when Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz are both back from ACL tears sat center Nikola Vucevic. The guy who was never supposed to be the face of the franchise (one day Aaron Gordon, one day…), but who took the mantle anyway. He is the best and most consistent player on the team and has been for years.

A little while back I claimed that, despite Vucevic having probably the best year of his career, it would not be enough to make the All-Star team. I argued that he should because few players were doing so much, with so little. But the Eastern Conference was just too competitive. Well, I was wrong.

Nikola Vucevic is a second-time All-Star, and it is a triumph for both player and Orlando Magic

On a personal level, this is so great for Vucevic. Few deserve it more for the way he has played and carried himself with the franchise. Brought over from the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the Dwight Howard trade, fans were annoyed that one of Andrew Bynum and Andre Iguodala, also part of the four-team deal, didn’t end up in the deal.

Who would have thought that Vucevic was the better choice over Bynum, and at this point maybe even over Iguodala as well for all he has done. Growth was slow, and defensively Vucevic was horrible. So much so that Bismack Biyombo was brought in on a four-year, $72 million deal to help shore up the defensive issues. It was an awful fit, and Vucevic outlasted him.

He has kicked on from there, and this second selection, against a much harder field of opponents than before, does wonders for his standing in franchise history. He has never complained about his situation, and at this point is only the sixth player since the inception of the organization to be named an All-Star more than once. He has some pretty illustrious company.

It is such a turnaround for a player who many fans wanted rid of, because of the fact he puts a ceiling on how far the team can go as their best player. That is still true by the way, but what Vucevic also does, and which is talked about far less, is raise their floor. Think about how terrible they would be without him now.

It is not just the basic numbers (a career-high 24.4 points and 11.6 rebounds), or the fact Vucevic has posted these with less help than the last couple of years because of injury. It is how he has continued to reinvent himself and take on the load that is asked of him, to the point now where he is an average defensive player. The kind who can trust for important stretches of a game.

Offensively he’s a top-five big man in the league, shooting a ridiculous 41 percent from deep on a career-high 6.4 attempts per game. Moving away from the paint was seen as a negative a few years ago when Vucevic began making the transition, but his footwork and willingness to still go inside make him a threat in every area.

Vucevic is not as good as Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and his passing isn’t on that level either. But these days on a lot of nights, he does a really good impression of being Jokic-lite for the Orlando Magic. This is something they need badly to give them a shot against opponents. Just look at some of the bigger names Vucevic got in there ahead of. You have to feel sorry for Domantas Sabonis in particular, who has a similar game and plays for the better Indiana Pacers.

But that’s the other piece of this. The reason it is huge for both player and team. Nobody in the national media, with the exception of Kevin Clark, cares about the Magic. But when Vucevic made the All-Star team the first time out, it raised the profile a little bit. Now that he’s back for a second time, fans are going to check back in a little more frequently again.

What they will find is a franchise in turmoil, missing young guys like Isaac, Fultz and Cole Anthony and need to make a decision regarding Evan Fournier. There’s also the question of what exactly is going on with Mohamed Bamba, and if he can one day take over from Khem Birch, never mind Vucevic.

Yet in amongst the strife, as has always been the case, sits Nikola Vucevic. The calm in the eye of the storm, and the most deserving of All-Stars. The player who has always given everything for the Orlando Magic, even when the fans didn’t want him to. Say what you want, but at this point, he is a top-10 player in franchise history, and he is only going in one direction.