Being on social media can be tough for an Orlando Magic fan. There’s always something to poke fun at regarding the state of the franchise, and as a small market team, they are overlooked by basically everybody (except Zach Lowe, much respect to him). They have to be bordering on contention before anybody will take any notice.
But to those few who have noticed, they see that things are slowly changing. The previous rebuild may have failed, but Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, and Chuma Okeke is a pretty good place to start over. There’s also a likely top-three pick coming in this year’s draft, and potentially a first from the Chicago Bulls as well.
Top 3 worst fanbases for Orlando Magic fans to interact with online
Not that any of this seems to matter to fans of basically any other franchise, who see the Magic as the little brother they can beat up on right now.
In fairness, that is because they are. With a record of 9-40, many of the games have been a tough slog this year. Oftentimes a promising first half, or even three quarters, gives way to an eventual loss.
It is why even the small victories need to be celebrated, but we must also remember that adding another high lottery pick and youth development is the point of this season.
Yet some fanbases seem to have a go at the Magic more than others. Then there are those that are annoying, simply because of the shared past that exists between the two.
Either way, it feels like the 2021-22 season is one that will be remembered for days-long spats with opposition fans (and people working for the teams) in ways we haven’t quite seen before.
Without further ado, here are the three worst fanbases for an Orlando Magic fan to interact with online.
*Stats valid as of January 27
Top 3 worst fanbases for Orlando Magic fans to interact with online: 3. Los Angeles Lakers
Of course, we have to start with the Los Angeles Lakers. A fanbase that, if you asked every team in the league which other fans they disliked the most, would appear more than any other.
There is one key difference here between the Lakers and the other two groups we’re going to talk about, and that is that right now it’s less personal.
The Lakers are just annoying because they’re typically good and they get all of the best players to come and play for them. Their fans don’t pick on the Magic specifically (usually), they are just littered with casual individuals who don’t understand why they can’t trade Russell Westbrook for Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard… and probably thought they’d win multiple titles once they got Westbrook in the first place.
Really, it only gets bad if you go looking for an argument with a Lakers fan because, well, if you support the Magic you can’t win. Shaquille O’Neal leaving Orlando for Los Angeles happened a long time ago, and we’re all well past that now.
He was recently in town to see the two teams play and he doesn’t get much in the way of hate from Magic fans. It was what it was, we moved on.
The Dwight Howard saga was only a decade ago, and so it can still feel a little sore. But given how Howard’s career unraveled after joining LA, there was almost a sense of relief and joy in seeing him making it back to the Lakers a second time as a complementary piece on a title team. Now on his third stint there, we’re all pretty much over it.
But no matter what, the Lakers have taken two of the top three players in franchise history in their primes and had success after doing so. These days, LeBron James is the person who irks Magic fans the most, and not just because he once played for the Miami Heat (who won’t be appearing here).
No. It was his comments on Orlando in general that were disrespectful. Lakers fans are annoying. They always will be. But we all just learn to get by.
Top 3 worst fanbases for Orlando Magic fans to interact with online: 2. Chicago Bulls
Is this the most one-sided argument in the entire NBA? Chicago Bulls fans have, for some reason, gotten up in arms lately after the Magic were able to beat them (maybe it was the Suggs dunks that did it?).
Bulls supporters were quick to point out that their squad has been hit hard by injury, which is very true. And it may just be that the Magic were getting the full brunt of the fact that the slim title hopes of the Bulls have gone with it.
But in using this argument, they failed to realize that the Magic have been among the league leaders in guys lost to injury for the last three seasons.
Even at the time when the game was played, the Bulls had had players miss 164 games through injury. The Magic? 304. Bulls fans might also point to the fact that the Bulls have better players than the Magic, and they do.
But if the franchise was able to call upon Fultz (out with an ACL tear), Isaac (ACL), and Michael Carter-Williams (fell off the face of the earth), they’d be in a better place. Suggs missed time with a thumb injury, Mohamed Bamba will be out for a while with an ankle issue, and Cole Anthony had to sit out some as well.
However, when using the injuries as an excuse for losing, the argument then spilled over into fleecing the Magic in order to secure the services of Nikola Vucevic – a beloved former Magic player, having the roughest season of his career.
The Magic, meanwhile, got Carter Jr. in the trade, a pick that turned into the fantastic Franz Wagner, and tanked enough when Vucevic left to also get Suggs.
They still may get another pick out of the Bulls, but that’s not even the point. This was a deal that was ideal for both sides. The Bulls want to win now, and Vucevic helps with that. The Magic have all the time in the world to see what their young core can become, and Wagner and Carter Jr. fit the timeline of that.
If anything, we need to get back to the feeling when that deal first went through. The feeling that everybody won, and Vucevic was finally going to get a chance to compete.
Instead, Bulls fans and Stacey King want to take odd shots at a rival that isn’t even a rival right now. Truly, the clash of fans we didn’t need or want, and a rivalry that seems to be more one-sided from the Bulls side of things.
Top 3 worst fanbases for Orlando Magic fans to interact with online: 1. Scottie Barnes
Yep, this one is annoying.
It isn’t a constant like the Lakers or a flare-up like what seems to be happening with the Bulls. No, in the case of the Toronto Raptors, it is both. It also all boils down to one thing and one thing only, and that is the fact that the Raptors drafted Scottie Barnes with the fourth pick in last year’s draft.
This allowed the Magic to swoop in and take Suggs fifth overall, much to the surprise of many. For a long time, Suggs was penciled in as a top three pick. So when the Raptors passed on him at four, they received a lot of criticism and were the butt of many jokes. This only intensified when Barnes had a stuttering start to his career.
Do you know who else stumbled out of the gates? Suggs, but not that Raptors fans seemed to care. Desperate to prove to everybody that Barnes was the right pick, they curiously channeled all of their anger towards Magic fans whenever they got the opportunity, and they continue to do so.
Did some Magic fans bring this on themselves? Sure. But as the age-old saying goes, they started it.
This feud also overlooks the most obvious part of the whole saga. Barnes was the right pick for the Raptors. He is motoring along and having a really impressive first season in the league. He fits better with the core that the Raptors have and defensively, looks like he could grow into something special.
The Magic, on the other hand, were in need of a more flashy offensive individual. Somebody who could sell tickets and get the fanbase excited. It is ironic that Wagner may yet actually be that, but Suggs always looked like a better bet at doing that than Barnes.
What’s even more hilarious is that the two players seem to get along with one another. With how much trash talk we see when Barnes has a good game and Suggs doesn’t, though, this one could last a while. Like, their whole careers…