The Top 25 Orlando Magic Players of All Time: #1

[Johnboy1980 0]

Penny Hardaway is up there with Michael Jordan as my favourite player of all time but I recognise that Dwight Howard is the best player the Magic have ever had. He's not bailed on us, like Shaq (yet but I don't think he will), he's never had a serious injury, Like Penny or Hill (touch wood) and he's worked and developed his game to become not only the best big in the game but one of the leagues elite players.

I'm making this decision on a players time with the Magic. I think it's ridiculous to say that what Shaq did with Miami or the Lakers makes him a better vote for Best Magic player Ever.

 

VOTE=DWIGHT

 

Nomination=What no Rony Seikaly??? or Jon Koncak? :) Tough one this, I'm tempted to go with Nick Anderson or Horace Grant but after watching that video above I think I'll go with Darrell Armstrong. I didn't get to watch to many games during this period but I'd always read about that team so I loved Armstrong but man that guy could jump right? Nice.

[VCplusD12 91]

[Gianto 4]

vote: Dwight Howard

nominate: Scott Skiles

[Sabian Jackson 0]

Vote: Dwight Howard

Nominate: Horace Grant

 

It would, in my opinion, be impossible to overestimate the impact Shaq had on the Magic. And while I will likely end up writing a veritable dissertation on the matter in a week or so, I'm giving Dwight the nod here.

 

First, while a player like Shaq did show clear improvements in his game, the changes undertaken by Dwight Howard, an 18 year old, thin power forward with little offense, little defense, and a middling at best back to the basket game into the league's best center, a position he'd never previously played, in 4 years is simply breathtaking.

 

A player who, from the time he entered high school to his third season in the pros, 7 years, went from playing guard, to forward, to center, and ultimately finished on the All-NBA third team at the position in his first full year playing it. He transformed himself from a defensive liability at power forward into a 2-time DPOY, has made 4 all-NBA defensive teams(3 firsts), and is currently second all time for the team's best career Drtg(behind Marcin Gortat) and has posted all of the team's top 3 Drtg seasons.

 

Meanwhile, he's turned himself into a legitimate 21ppg post scorer on a loaded offensive team while gobbling up rebounds like a demon and defending the paint as well as any player in the league.

 

He is the team's all-time leader in offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocks, and free throws, is 2nd in points, 4th in steals, and has over 35% more win shares than the next highest total of any Magic player in team history.

 

He brought us back to prominence. He gave us hope when there was none. He gave us the nicest arena in the NBA, and he did it while smiling. He's Dwight Howard, and he's the greatest Orlando Magic player in team history.

 

While I dont agree with you on much in general, this right here, is pure truth.

 

Vote: Dwight

 

Nominate: Do I have to?

If I'm forced to however, then I'm going to say Rashard. No real reason other than the game winner against Cleveland. One of my all time favourite sporting moments. Gives me chills every time.

[Hank Moody 60]

Vote- Dwight Howard

 

Nomination- Rashard Lewis

 

Dwight hands down, best Magic player ever, got us a half a billion $ building and is bad ass with all those cool stats someone else posted.

 

Rashard should be nominated because like his paycheck, his worth is not seen individually but in fit and design of the team. He came here and immediately this team had an identity and took off.

[BallSpritePizza 1]

vote tmac

 

nominate jameer

[Soul Bro 1,421]

Good idea, Alpha.

 

Vote: Dwight

 

Skywise provided a great summary. Dwight is still young, but he already has done so much for the team, the city and the country. Now we just need him to be like Duncan and stay true to his NBA homeland. Hopefully, he becomes the new anti-James in his loyalty.

 

Nominate: Armstrong

 

Armstrong was the heart and soul of the Magic for so long. Like Dwight, his enthusiasm for the game and dedication to defense were contagious, and even through the down years he maintained a positive, hard-working attitude.

[Luke_FfS 248]

Vote: Howard

 

Altough it's difficult to make a comparison beetwen a guy that is still playing with us and others who're not, IMHO Dwight has already accomplished more than the other candidates.

 

Nominate: H. Grant

 

Tough one, with Darrel and Skiles close seconds, but my preference is for him and for what he's done in our second best shot to a ring.

 

 

 

 

BTW, great idea DoM !

[Chase 209]

IMHO

 

Vote- Dwight,He pretty much brought this whole city back from the grave. All we're missing is the hardware.

 

Nominate-I'm going with D. Armstrong. He was such a compliment to T-Mac's playing style and he's energy is one in a million. I've never seen a player with such heart and hustle. He was an amazing player on and off the court.

[magicfan83 23]

Vote - Shaq. I know its unpopular, but it will be explained.

 

Nominate - Pat Garrity. Seriously. No? OK, I'll go with Lewis.

 

Several reasons to take Shaq over Dwight. I'll start with those off the court. Without a doubt, Shaq put our franchise on the map. There was a buzz in the city over the team to begin with, but Shaq took it to a whole new level. He made us a national story, even a global one. He was literally larger than life, a magnetic personality and quote machine that brought all kinds of positive attention to the Orlando Magic. He prevented us from becoming the Minnesota Timberwolves. He (along with Penny too) helped make Orlando a very attractive free agent destination, setting up the huge signings of Horace (who didn't love the goggles?), McGrady, and yes, Grant Hill.

 

On the court, he instantly made us better. The '91-'92 team was an abomination on the level of the '03-'04 team (they both finished with 21 wins). A trip to Orlando was an easy victory and an excuse to go to Disney World. We defined (if not coined) the term "Mickey Mouse Operation," even though attendance was still very high. The very next season we won 41 games without any other significant offseason moves of note and came within a breath of a playoff spot, losing out on a tiebreaker to the Pacers (oh how we would come to hate the Pacers). He was clearly a better offensive player than Dwight, and defensively he isn't as far behind as most would like to admit. He was much thinner then than he is now, and had remarkable agility and athletic explosion early in his career, especially for a man his size. He was a great rebounder and a very good shot blocker. The next year we drafted Webber (and traded him for Penny) and got our first 50 win season, and our first playoff berth. I still remember being at Game 1 and Byron Scott breaking all our hearts. He was the center of all our success back then, he's the reason a player like Rik Smits or Matt Geiger can gather the ire of people in Orlando. I know of at least a handful of fans that still take delight in beating the Pacers and Bulls after those playoff series' in the mid 90s.

 

Probably the main reason we hate him so much now, is because of how much we loved him back then.

 

Rashard......

 

He is arguably the most important free agent we have ever signed (Grant and McGrady are certainly in the conversation). The summer of 2007 we were still worried about the team possibly moving to Kansas City. Dwight had yet to sign an extension, waiting to see how we were using our cap space. There was a great debate as to whether we should go after Lewis, Carter, or Wallace (and trying to keep Darko). Who can forget the duplication of talent debate, fool's gold, and financial responsibility debates. While we all choked on our coffee when we saw Rashard's contract went from 5 years and 75 million to 6 and 118; Dwight immediately signed his extension within 24 hours of Rashard joining us. Stan Van Gundy was our new coach within a week. The team improved by 12 wins and advanced to the 2nd round for the first time since we had Shaq, even though our new signing was playing out of position. This is all without mentioning the 2008 playoff run.

 

He made the all-star team in 2008-09. In the playoffs, he had one of the most memorable runs of any Magic player. The Philadelphia series was closer than most of us would like to admit. Down 2-1, the series turned with a decision to run more pick and rolls with Shard and Philly's decision to switch on him (along with a huge game winner from Turk). Stan was shocked that Philly kept switching the 1-4 pick and roll and Shard totally abused Miller in the post for the rest of the series, including a 27 point, 12 rebound, 7 assist night in the series clinching win in Philadelphia with Dwight out on suspension. In our series against Boston, the 7 game heart attack inducing series, he was the only player who consistently produced points. He routinely drove past Glen Davis and Leon Powe and not only scored or set up others, but picked up fouls and exploiting their lack of big men with KG out. The 2 dramatic shots against Cleveland would be enough on their own, but they way he abused Cleveland all throughout that series forced their hands into a series of trades last year and may ultimately have paved the way for Lebron to go to Miami. In Game 1, he went something like 9 of 9 in the 4th quarter and only hit the rim once. He was huge in our only win in the finals.

 

He may have never lived up to his contract production-wise, but I bet if you asked the guys that signed his checks and made the decisions, he was worth every penny.

[KandiKane 136]

Vote - Shaq. I know its unpopular, but it will be explained.

 

Nominate - Pat Garrity. Seriously. No? OK, I'll go with Lewis.

 

Several reasons to take Shaq over Dwight. I'll start with those off the court. Without a doubt, Shaq put our franchise on the map. There was a buzz in the city over the team to begin with, but Shaq took it to a whole new level. He made us a national story, even a global one. He was literally larger than life, a magnetic personality and quote machine that brought all kinds of positive attention to the Orlando Magic. He prevented us from becoming the Minnesota Timberwolves. He (along with Penny too) helped make Orlando a very attractive free agent destination, setting up the huge signings of Horace (who didn't love the goggles?), McGrady, and yes, Grant Hill.

 

On the court, he instantly made us better. The '91-'92 team was an abomination on the level of the '03-'04 team (they both finished with 21 wins). A trip to Orlando was an easy victory and an excuse to go to Disney World. We defined (if not coined) the term "Mickey Mouse Operation," even though attendance was still very high. The very next season we won 41 games without any other significant offseason moves of note and came within a breath of a playoff spot, losing out on a tiebreaker to the Pacers (oh how we would come to hate the Pacers). He was clearly a better offensive player than Dwight, and defensively he isn't as far behind as most would like to admit. He was much thinner then than he is now, and had remarkable agility and athletic explosion early in his career, especially for a man his size. He was a great rebounder and a very good shot blocker. The next year we drafted Webber (and traded him for Penny) and got our first 50 win season, and our first playoff berth. I still remember being at Game 1 and Byron Scott breaking all our hearts. He was the center of all our success back then, he's the reason a player like Rik Smits or Matt Geiger can gather the ire of people in Orlando. I know of at least a handful of fans that still take delight in beating the Pacers and Bulls after those playoff series' in the mid 90s.

 

Probably the main reason we hate him so much now, is because of how much we loved him back then.

 

Rashard......

 

He is arguably the most important free agent we have ever signed (Grant and McGrady are certainly in the conversation). The summer of 2007 we were still worried about the team possibly moving to Kansas City. Dwight had yet to sign an extension, waiting to see how we were using our cap space. There was a great debate as to whether we should go after Lewis, Carter, or Wallace (and trying to keep Darko). Who can forget the duplication of talent debate, fool's gold, and financial responsibility debates. While we all choked on our coffee when we saw Rashard's contract went from 5 years and 75 million to 6 and 118; Dwight immediately signed his extension within 24 hours of Rashard joining us. Stan Van Gundy was our new coach within a week. The team improved by 12 wins and advanced to the 2nd round for the first time since we had Shaq, even though our new signing was playing out of position. This is all without mentioning the 2008 playoff run.

 

He made the all-star team in 2008-09. In the playoffs, he had one of the most memorable runs of any Magic player. The Philadelphia series was closer than most of us would like to admit. Down 2-1, the series turned with a decision to run more pick and rolls with Shard and Philly's decision to switch on him (along with a huge game winner from Turk). Stan was shocked that Philly kept switching the 1-4 pick and roll and Shard totally abused Miller in the post for the rest of the series, including a 27 point, 12 rebound, 7 assist night in the series clinching win in Philadelphia with Dwight out on suspension. In our series against Boston, the 7 game heart attack inducing series, he was the only player who consistently produced points. He routinely drove past Glen Davis and Leon Powe and not only scored or set up others, but picked up fouls and exploiting their lack of big men with KG out. The 2 dramatic shots against Cleveland would be enough on their own, but they way he abused Cleveland all throughout that series forced their hands into a series of trades last year and may ultimately have paved the way for Lebron to go to Miami. In Game 1, he went something like 9 of 9 in the 4th quarter and only hit the rim once. He was huge in our only win in the finals.

 

He may have never lived up to his contract production-wise, but I bet if you asked the guys that signed his checks and made the decisions, he was worth every penny.

 

Wow, word count?

 

Dwight for me

[Miller4Prez66 545]

Vote-Dwight Howard

 

I think Shaq was a better player, but the fact Dwight didn't bail the first chance he got and won us an NBA Finals game gives him the nod. Shaq put this franchise on the map, but Dwight saved it from falling off the map and has brought us new glory years.

 

I'll go with a different nomination than the typical Grant/Armstrong talk and say Dennis Scott. Always liked what 3D brought to the table for us, best shooter in franchise history and was a big piece of our first contending team. Figured I'd at least thrown him into the mix.