The Best Orlando Magic of All Time
Who are the best Orlando Magic of all time? Formed in 1989, the Orlando Magic's time as a franchise as been as topsy-turvy as a theme park rollercoaster. The Magic have seen some magical years and some bad ones as well. Whenever things looked bleak for Orlando, a superstar player would magically appear on its roster.The franchise may be known mostly for big name stars bolting the city for larger markets, the best Magic players are some of the greatest in NBA history. Shaquille O'Neal was the first superstar to play for the Magic. During his time in Orlando, Shaq was the best young player in the league. Between he and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic had two of the brightest stars in the league.
After Shaq bolted for Los Angeles and Hardaway had major knee surgery that made a shell of his former self, the Magic looked to find two new superstars to replace them. In came Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. While Hill was hampered by injuries, McGrady developed into one of the greatest Magic players of all time. When McGrady left, Dwight Howard arrived to take over. As the best center in the NBA, Howard took the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. But like Shaq, Howard skipped town when he was traded to Los Angeles in 2012.
Orlando has had some of the best current players in the NBA on its team since it came into the league, a number that would make other teams jealous. It's hard landing one superstar, nevertheless a number of the greatest players in basketball history, but the Magic have done exactly that. More recently, NBA stars like Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, and Mo Bamba have given the Magic hope for a bright future.
Vote up the best Orlando Magic of all time, and rerank this list according to who you think should be considered the greatest Orlando Magic player in team history.
- 1Center
- Teams: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics
Shaquille Rashaun "Shaq" O'Neal ( shə-KEEL; SHAK; born March 6, 1972) is a retired professional American basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA on TNT. He ...more - 2Shooting guard, Small forward
- Teams: Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors
Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He is best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played as both ...more - 3Point guard
- Teams: Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns
Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach for the Memphis Tigers and a former professional player. Hardaway played in the National Basketball ...more - 4Center
- Teams: Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks
Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is an eight-time All-Star, ...more - 5Center
- Teams: Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic
Nikola Vučević (born 24 October 1990) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player who currently plays for Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for ...more - 6Shooting guard, Small forward
- Teams: Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies
Nelison “Nick” Anderson (born January 20, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for thirteen years. Born in Chicago, ...more - 7Power forward, Center
- Teams: Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Supersonics, Chicago Bulls
Horace Junior Grant (born July 4, 1965) is an American retired basketball player. He attended and played college basketball at Clemson University before playing professionally in the National ...more - 8Small forward, Power forward, Point forward
- Teams: Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic
Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (born March 19, 1979) is a Turkish former professional basketball player and current president of the Turkish Basketball Federation. He has played 15 seasons in the National ...more - 9Small forward
- Teams: Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is a former American professional basketball player and current Hudl videographer for Orlando City SC. He is also currently a host of NBA TV's NBA Inside ...more - 10Small forward
- Teams: Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks
Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who is a basketball analyst for ESPN. He has been ranked as the greatest dunker of all time by ...more - 11Small forward
- Teams: Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Vancouver Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves
Dennis Eugene Scott (born September 5, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) small forward from Georgia Tech, and the 1990 ACC Men's Basketball Player of ...more - 12Small forward, Power forward
- Teams: Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics
Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Rashard entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a ...more - 13Power forward
- Teams: Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic
Aaron Addison Gordon (born September 16, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college ...more - 14Point guard
- Teams: Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks
Scott Allen Skiles Sr. (born March 5, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as the head coach of the Orlando Magic. He also coached the Phoenix Suns, ...more - 15Shooting guard
- Teams: Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers
Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick (born June 24, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected 11th overall by the ...more - 16Point guard
- Teams: Orlando Magic
Jameer Nelson (born February 9, 1982) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks, where he was named national college ...more - 17Power forward
- Teams: Orlando Magic
Jonathan Judah Isaac (born October 3, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the ...more - 18Point guard
- Teams: Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans
Darrell Eugene Armstrong (born June 22, 1968) is a former American professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant coach ...more - 19Shooting guard, Small forward
- Teams: Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies
Michael Lloyd Miller (born February 19, 1980) is an American former basketball player who is an assistant college basketball coach for the Memphis Tigers. He played in college for the Florida Gators, ...more - 20Point guard
- Teams: Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks
Rafer Jamel Alston (born July 24, 1976), also known as Skip to my Lou, is an American retired professional basketball player. He played for six NBA teams throughout his career. - 21Power forward, Center, Forward-center
- Teams: Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers
Charles "Bo" Outlaw (born April 13, 1971) is an American professional retired basketball player. Outlaw was known for his athleticism, tenacious defensive approach and sub-par free-throw shooting ...more - 22Small forward, Shooting guard
- Teams: Orlando Magic
Terrence James Elijah Ross (born February 5, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for ...more - 23Point guard, Shooting guard
- Teams: Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks
Steven D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft, and was named the NBA Rookie ...more - 24Shooting guard
- Teams: Miami Heat
Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo (born May 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the ...more - 25Shooting guard
- Teams: New York Knicks
Evan Mehdi Fournier is a French professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association. He played junior basketball at the French INSEP ...more
