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 - 6Power 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
