Orlando Magic

• 1. A Name From Eleven

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  The Orlando Magic's name was nearly Juice. Of 4,296 entries submitted to the Orlando Sentinel in 1986, judges narrowed the field to four choices: Heat, Tropics, Juice, and Magic. Only eleven people had written "Magic" on their forms. Co-founder Pat Williams brought his seven-year-old daughter Karyn to visit Orlando, and after that trip the decision became clear. On the 27th of July 1986, Magic was officially chosen, a deliberate echo of Walt Disney World and its Magic Kingdom. Founder Jim Hewitt described Central Florida as "an exciting place, a magical place."

  Williams had initially thought Miami or Tampa made more sense for a Florida franchise. Many in the league agreed. Convincing NBA commissioner David Stern and the existing team owners fell to Jim Hewitt and Pat Williams. In September 1985, Hewitt had first pitched the idea to Williams at a Texas meeting, when Williams was still the Philadelphia 76ers' general manager.

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• 2. Orlando Earns Its Spot

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  On the 19th of June 1986, Hewitt and Williams held a press conference to formally announce they were seeking an NBA franchise. Williams had left his previous position to join Hewitt's investment group as its public face. The NBA's expansion committee initially recommended adding only three new teams, allocating slots to Charlotte and Minneapolis-St. Paul. That left Orlando competing with Miami for a single Florida allocation. When both ownership groups made successful pitches, the committee expanded its plan and awarded franchises to four cities. Orlando joined the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, and Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1987 expansion class. The expansion fee was reportedly $32.5 million. Hewitt's investor group included real estate developer William duPont, Orlando Renegades owner Don Dizney, and Southern Fruit Citrus owners Jim and Steve Caruso.

  Matt Guokas was hired as the team's first head coach. On the 15th of June 1989, he helped select twelve players in the NBA expansion draft. The team's first game was an exhibition on the 13th of October 1989, against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, a match the Magic won. Nick Anderson, taken eleventh overall from Illinois, compared the atmosphere to "Game 7 of the NBA Finals." The first regular-season game, on the 4th of November 1989, went to the visiting New Jersey Nets 111-106. Two days later, a 118-110 win over the New York Knicks gave the Magic their first official victory.

  The inaugural season ended 18-64. In the 1990 NBA Draft, the team selected Dennis Scott fourth overall. By the end of his rookie year, Scott had made 125 three-point field goals, the best such total by any rookie in league history. Guard Scott Skiles set a different record on the 30th of December 1990, racking up 30 assists in a 155-116 win over the Denver Nuggets. He surpassed Kevin Porter's NBA single-game assists mark of 29. On the 19th of September 1991, the DeVos family, founders of Amway, purchased the franchise for $85 million. Patriarch Richard DeVos became the owner. The first season under the DeVos family brought a 17-game losing streak and a 21-61 finish. All 41 home games sold out nonetheless. Three seasons in, the Magic had yet to reach the playoffs.

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• 3. Two Lottery Miracles

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  On the 17th of May 1992, the Orlando Magic won the top pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. They used it to select Shaquille O'Neal from Louisiana State University, seen as the biggest prize in that draft since Patrick Ewing had gone to the New York Knicks. O'Neal led the team to a 41-41 record in his first season, an improvement of 20 games. He was the first rookie voted to the All-Star starting lineup since Michael Jordan in 1985. He also won the 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year award.

  O'Neal's presence alone was not enough to reach the playoffs. The Magic finished tied with the Indiana Pacers for the eighth seed in 1992-93, with the Pacers holding the tiebreaker. For the 1993 NBA Draft Lottery, the Magic held just one ball, the lowest possible odds. They won it again, for the second consecutive year.

  With that first pick in 1993, the Magic selected Chris Webber, then traded him immediately to the Golden State Warriors. In return, they received the third overall pick, guard Penny Hardaway, and three future first-round picks. Brian Hill was promoted to head coach after Guokas stepped down before the draft. Under Hill, the team went 50-32 in 1993-94, the franchise's first 50-win season, and reached the playoffs for the first time. The Indiana Pacers swept them 3-0 in the first round.

  Horace Grant joined as a free agent from the Chicago Bulls before the 1994-95 season. The Magic finished 57-25, the best record in the Eastern Conference, and became only the second team in NBA history to reach the Finals so quickly. The Milwaukee Bucks of 1971, in their third season, hold that record. In the playoffs, Orlando beat the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, and the Indiana Pacers before facing the Houston Rockets. Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets were winning their second consecutive championship. They swept Orlando 4-0.

  The following year, Orlando went 60-22 but trailed the Chicago Bulls, whose 72-10 record was the second-best in NBA history at that point. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the combination of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman swept the Magic 4-0. O'Neal left as a free agent for the Los Angeles Lakers that summer.

  Darrell Armstrong won both the NBA Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards in the 1998-99 season, when the Magic tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 33-17. With Hardaway dealt to Phoenix in 1999, general manager John Gabriel hired rookie coach Doc Rivers and assembled a roster of largely unproven players. Rivers won Coach of the Year despite a 41-41 finish, and the club that year went by the slogan "Heart and Hustle."

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• 4. McGrady's Scoring Titles

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  In the summer of 2000, Gabriel used millions in cleared cap space to pursue Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady. Duncan stayed with San Antonio. The Magic signed both Hill and McGrady.

  Hill appeared in only four games that first season because of an ankle injury. McGrady emerged as the team's centerpiece, earned a place on the All-Star team and the All-NBA Second Team, and rookie Mike Miller won the Rookie of the Year award. The Magic went 43-39 and reached the playoffs, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 3-1 in the first round.

  McGrady led the league in scoring in 2002-03 at 32.1 points per game, his second All-NBA First Team selection and his third consecutive All-Star appearance. The Magic went 42-40 that year. They built a 3-1 lead over the Detroit Pistons in the first-round playoff series, then lost three straight and were eliminated. McGrady was quoted saying "It feels good to get in the second round" despite still needing one more win to advance.

  The 2003-04 season brought the franchise's lowest point in years. After winning their first game, the Magic lost nineteen consecutive games, setting a team record. Hill remained sidelined by his ankle. McGrady still led the league in scoring at 28.0 points per game, but the team finished 21-61, worst in the NBA. Doc Rivers was fired during the losing streak. Gabriel was replaced by John Weisbrod.

  McGrady later said he had not given his full effort that season and had hoped for more help from management. He said he never actually wanted to leave Orlando, but the trade went through. He went to the Houston Rockets with Reece Gaines, Tyronn Lue, and Juwan Howard. In return, the Magic received Steve Francis, Kelvin Cato, and Cuttino Mobley. Weisbrod now held the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.

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• 5. Howard and the Finals

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  Dwight Howard, selected first overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, had come straight out of high school. He became the first rookie in league history to start all 82 regular-season games. He averaged a double-double and quickly established himself as a consistent rebounder and scorer. Point guard Jameer Nelson, acquired in a draft-day trade with the Denver Nuggets, developed into a starter. Grant Hill, returning from years of ankle problems, averaged 19.7 points per game and was voted an All-Star starter by fans for the 2005 game.

  On the 15th of April 2007, the Magic secured a playoff berth for the first time since 2003 with an 88-86 win over the Boston Celtics. Stan Van Gundy signed a four-year contract on the 6th of June 2007. He added Rashard Lewis from the Seattle SuperSonics on a six-year deal believed to be worth over $110 million.

  The 2007-08 season produced a 52-30 record and the Southeast Division title, the franchise's strongest finish since 1995-96. They beat the Toronto Raptors 4-1 in the first round for their first playoff series win in twelve years. They fell to the Detroit Pistons 4-1 in the second round. Hedo Turkoglu won the Most Improved Player award that year.

  Through the first 41 games of the 2008-09 season, the Magic compiled a 33-8 record and led the Southeast Division. Jameer Nelson suffered a shoulder injury in early February and was expected to miss the rest of the season. The Magic still finished 59-23, the most wins since 1995-96. They defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. They then beat the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Assistant coach Patrick Ewing had publicly guaranteed the team would win Game 7, and it did. They beat LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers, that season's regular-season MVP, in the Conference Finals. In the NBA Finals, the Magic dropped the first two games to the Los Angeles Lakers before winning Game 3, their first-ever Finals victory. Nelson returned to play, but the Lakers won the championship in five games.

  In the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, Howard requested a trade to the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, or Dallas Mavericks. He rescinded the request in March, but shortly afterward was diagnosed with a herniated disk and required back surgery, ending his season. The Magic clinched the sixth seed at 37-29 and lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers. Van Gundy, whose regular-season record with Orlando had been 259-135, and general manager Otis Smith both departed in May 2012. On the 10th of August 2012, the four-team trade sending Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers was confirmed. He left as the franchise's all-time leader in scoring, shot blocking, and rebounding. Rob Hennigan, named general manager on the 20th of June 2012, became the youngest GM in the league at the time. His rebuild centered on the players acquired in the Howard trade, among them center Nikola Vucevic.

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• 6. Pinstripes and Stars

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  Standard mesh nylon, the fabric used across the NBA in 1989, does not hold a pinstripe pattern. The team's original jerseys were sewn from durene, a material with cotton underneath and polyester bonded on the outside. Orlando advertising agency The Advertising Works, led by president Doug Minear, designed the uniforms. The logo featured a basketball crowded by stars, with the word "Magic" using a star in place of the letter A.

  Pat Williams had initially proposed black and gold, the colors of his alma mater Wake Forest University. That combination was rejected in part because UCF, the local college, used the same scheme. The final palette centered on an electric blue specially made by sporting goods manufacturer MacGregor, alongside black and silver. The original logo took shape after meetings with Walt Disney World artists and a review of over 5,000 submitted suggestions.

  For the team's tenth anniversary in 1998-99, fashion designer Jhane Barnes created a new look in which stars replaced pinstripes as the background pattern. Those jerseys were made of the dazzle material used in the Women's National Basketball Association. A redesigned logo featuring a comet-like basketball replaced the original in 2000-01.

  Stuff the Magic Dragon has been the franchise's mascot since 1989. Wade Harrison and Bonnie Erickson of Acme Mascots, Inc., designed the character. The name plays on both the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" and the basketball term "stuffing," which means a slam dunk. The original home arena opened in 1989 as the Orlando Arena, nicknamed the O-Rena. In 1999, TD Waterhouse purchased its naming rights. In December 2006, Amway purchased them for four years. The current arena, Kia Center, opened on the 1st of October 2010, and housed the largest Jumbotron in the NBA at the time. Outside the building, a 46-by-53-foot video display faces Interstate 4. The venue was renamed Kia Center on the 20th of December 2023. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Magic unveiled a modernized version of the original streaking ball with stars logo first used in 1989, along with uniforms that revived the silver star in place of the A in the Magic wordmark.

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• 7. The Banchero Generation

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  Paolo Banchero was selected first overall from Duke University on the 23rd of June 2022. He averaged 20 points per game in his debut season and helped the Magic improve their win total from 22 to 34. He was named Rookie of the Year. The franchise also unveiled the AdventHealth Training Center in August 2022.

  In May 2023, the Magic donated $50,000 to a super PAC supporting Florida governor Ron DeSantis's 2024 presidential campaign. The New York Times described it as the first known instance of an NBA team donating directly to a group allied with a presidential candidate. On the 22nd of June 2023, the club selected Anthony Black sixth overall from the University of Arkansas. Jett Howard, from the University of Michigan, came with the eleventh pick.

  Banchero earned an All-Star selection in the 2023-24 season, the first Magic player to make the game since Nikola Vucevic in 2021. Guard Jalen Suggs earned a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team. The Magic finished 47-35 as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. They pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Donovan Mitchell, to seven games in the first round before losing the series.

  Banchero suffered a torn right oblique on the 31st of October 2024. Franz Wagner tore the same injury and was ruled out indefinitely. After missing more than two months, Banchero returned to score 34 points and seven rebounds in a 109-106 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The 2025-26 season brought a 45-37 record and second place in the Southeast Division. The Detroit Pistons ended the Magic's first-round run in seven games.

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