You remember the Orlando Magic, right? As the NBA playoff tournament starts up, the Magic are already taking the summer off. Have been for a while. Yet back in the day, they had some power and made some noise in the Association. Ahh, the good old days when the young Shaquille O’Neal wore the Orlando uni.
It’s offseason for the Magic, but the team’s PR department is still working hard. Just this week, the team put out what it’s calling the “Franchise Awards.” Great players who have worn the silver and blue over the years. Of course our man Shaq made the best-of list, in an interesting way.
Unfortunately for Magic fans, the team has never won an NBA Championship. They did make two appearances in the Finals, years when O’Neal was on the team (of course!). The team has had some real talent over the years, and now it’s being recognized with these franchise awards.
Interestingly, Dwight Howard was named GOAT of the franchise, as he currently owns three of the five major records in the team’s history. He is the all-time leading scorer with 11,435 points and rebounder with 8.072. On the defensive side, Howard leads the franchise all-time in blocks with 1,344.
Howard is also the leader in minutes played, free throws, offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds. Howard led the team to the NBA Finals in 2009, which is their last appearance in the championship. Shaq was in Cleveland that season.
As for the big man, how lucky was Orlando to be able to draft such a special player with their number one pick? O’Neal had a sensational rookie season where he averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks. O’Neal was selected to play in the All-Star Game where he started as the team’s center.
For that and other reasons, Shaq was named the team’s “Rookie of All Time.” Out of the rookies in team history, O’Neal’s season remains the best. As a comparison, Howard’s first year in the league saw him average 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. Those are not bad numbers, but O’Neal was just on another level at the time. His season was the type of year some veterans have in their prime. O’Neal did it in his first year in the league.
A couple of other interesting “franchise award” picks: Even though he doesn’t have the all-time win number for the team, (that record belongs to Brian Hill), Stan Van Gundy got the coaching award. He’s got the team’s highest winning percentage at .657. Hill finished with 267 wins while Van Gundy was right behind with 259 wins. In the playoffs, Van Gundy owns more playoff wins with 31 in comparison to Hill’s 18.
Finally, Penny Hardaway was named Fan Favorite. He’s always been a fan of Shaq’s, too. O’Neal has talked in the past about some “what if” scenarios where he stayed in Orlando and got some additional talent to help him and Penny. Might have actually won a title!