POLL: Who is the 5th best player in Magic history?

[Knightro]

It's pretty obvious that the four best players in Magic history in some order are Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard. We can certainly debate the order, but those four are the best and I like to think it's pretty unanimous on that front.

That said...

Who is the 5th best player in the history of the Orlando Magic franchise?

Explain your reasoning in the comments below.

[JoshuaPotter]

Grant Hill snub.....

[Skybox]

I voted Rashard...he's not getting his jersey retired, in fact he'll be largely forgotten for his brief stay...Jameer, Hedo, and even Lil Penny were far bigger chapters in Magic history.

But Rashard was REALLY good and that's what I voted. Not good like "Grant Hill before he got here" good but while he was in a Magic uni.

[DiplomaticMagic]

From a talent standpoint, as far as their peak in Orlando (not overall peak) it has to be Hedo Turkoglu. It was his play that carried us to the 2009 finals, always felt like he was most important player.

[Skybox]

I guess career longevity is a big factor here...Paolo and Franz are already better players than this list, IMO.

[jezzerinho]

Horace Grant followed by Jameer followed by Hedo followed by Nick

[eyriq]

Tracy (2002)
Shaq (1994)
Dwight (2011)
Penny (1996)
Vooch 2019
Darrell (1999)
Francis (2005)
Nelson (2009)
Hedo (2008)
Hill (2005)
Nick Anderson (1993)
Rashard (2008)
Ryan Anderson (2012)
Skiles (1991)
Paolo (2024)
Oladipo (2016)
Franz (2024)
Outlaw (2001)
Horace (1997)
Isaac (2020)

[Def Swami]

My initial reaction was to pick Vucevic. I really value the time Vucevic spent here. There was a lot of focus during Vucevic's tenure about what he wasn't capable of. He couldn't protect the rim like Dwight Howard. He struggled defending in space. He was not an efficient player for most of his time. The team lost a lot of basketball games.

But, it also was never his fault that he was consistently the best player on the team. It was unfairly held against him. It was never his fault that the front office for 10 years could never solve that problem. They tried so hard to find better options than Vucevic. Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo, Mo Bamba, etc. Vucevic consistently proved that he was better than all of those guys. The front office blew draft pick after draft pick (Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja, Mo Bamba again). They wasted free agency money (DJ Augustin, Jeff Green). A lot of disappointing players strolled through Orlando for 10 years, and all Vucevic did was get better, make 2 all-star teams, and lead the team to the playoffs twice as the best player on the team. He was the ultimate professional. His last 3 years in Orlando, he maximized every bit of potential he had. He became a legit 20/10 with efficiency and smart defense. Statistically, I think Vucevic has a case.

But, with more thought, my pick is Hedo Turkoglu. He was the 2nd most important Magic player in the 2nd most relevant era of Magic Basketball. He spent 8 years in total with the Magic. From '07-'09, he averaged 18/5/5 on solid shooting splits. He was our clutch offense. He made the pick n' roll with Dwight Howard go. His ability to make plays out of it, finish at the rim, and hit 3's when teams went under was super invaluable. We made the playoffs 5 times with Turkoglu. We won 4 playoff series with him. He should have been an all-star in 2009.

If you value winning, then Vucevic won't be considered here. Anderson has a fair case. His longevity with the team and appearance in meaningful games makes him a hard omission. I just think Turkoglu's '09 run as the 2nd best player on that team carries the day for me.

Long live, Turk.

[drsd]

It's pretty obvious that the four best players in Magic history in some order are Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard. We can certainly debate the order, but those four are the best and I like to think it's pretty unanimous on that front.

That said...

Who is the 5th best player in the history of the Orlando Magic franchise?

Explain your reasoning in the comments below.

As we debate all this, I want to remind us all that ePat played 9 magical years in Orlando blue.


His Dalembert dunk was a top-20 play in Magic history. I really don't think that can be debated against !

Watch on YouTube

[eyriq]

I went advanced stats and box score per game averages normalized within decade. Vooch clears from that perspective. He was a beast.

[Rainwater]

I guess career longevity is a big factor here...Paolo and Franz are already better players than this list, IMO.

Yeah, Paolo or Franz is my answer as they are better than all the players listed. But if longevity is an issue my answer is Vuc.

[RookieStar]

Travis Diener is disappointed at all of your faithlessness.

[Last Guardian]

Why is Diener on the list? Its blasphemous to suggest he is only 5th best. He could stop Shaq in the post, pick penny's pocket, shoot right over T-Mac and even avoid Dwights attempts to get with him.

For skill its probably Turk or Vucevic. For impact it could be Horace or Rashard. I might just give it to Vuc. Didn't win much with him but the roster wasn't the best around him. Can't really argue with some of his stats.

[Max Power]

I’d say Vucevic for 5th. Averaging 24 and 12 his last full season and two all star appearances really makes him the logical choice. Guys like Rashard, Hedo, and Jameer, as good as they were, didn’t quite reach that. He’ll never get the credit he’s due because the team never was that good with him, but he did lead two playoff appearances. I did heavily consider Hedo over him though.

[basketballRob]

I’d say Vucevic for 5th. Averaging 24 and 12 his last full season and two all star appearances really makes him the logical choice. Guys like Rashard, Hedo, and Jameer, as good as they were, didn’t quite reach that. He’ll never get the credit he’s due because the team never was that good with him, but he did lead two playoff appearances. I did heavily consider Hedo over him though.

2 playoff wins in 9 years hurts Vuc. If Franz and Paolo win a playoff series they'll likely jump Vuc.

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[Max Power]

Robb, I agree Paolo and Franz doing what they’re doing in essentially 2 years in with certainly usurp Vucevic’s time here, but he deserves credit for being a hell of a player for a decade here. I sort of wish we’d kept him with Paolo and Franz and Suggs. He’s still better than any center we currently have.

[otownflava21]

Not even one peep of Vince, huh?

[Max Power]

Vince Carter played a year and a half with the Magic, but wasn’t Raptor Vince by any stretch. Several guys are ahead of him for 5th.

[dsg2021]

I go for Hedo Turkoglu. He was a very, very special player in ORL. I hate even bringing it up because I thought Luka Doncic's super bottom floor was eerily similar to ORL Hedo Turkoglu for me, and I was okay trading into that (as a worst case scenario) like DAL actually did (and it was very, very far from the worst case scenario for DAL & Luka).

After Hedo hit a game-winner verse PHI in the Round 1 of the Playoffs, he went on to average about 17 PPG, 5 APG, and 5 RPG on 44 FG%, 40 3P%, and 80 FT% against the likes of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, LeBron James, Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant for the rest of the Playoffs runs into the Finals. He did his part.

And Playoffs matter more than Regular Seasons in these type of questions.

But even what was potentially his best regular season was quite phenomenal. A 6'10 guy giving you about 19.5 PPG, 5 APG, 6 RPG on 46 FG%, 40 3P% on 2.0 3PM, and 83 FT%. I mean, these are basically stat lines that we want Franz and Paolo at, excepting for their PPG's reaching in the mid-20's and beyond, maybe the APG higher than 5-6 too.

[thelead]

How is Paolo not listed? He’s nearly two years in and an all-star at 21 while leading us to a likely playoff berth. That’s the only answer to this question considering how short the magic careers of Penny, Shaq, and T-Mac were. It’s not we have a history of a bunch of hall of famers with 8+ years of magic ball.