Magic to Retire Shaquille O'Neal's #32 Jersey on 2/13/24

[dsg2021]

I thought Shaq's speech was harmless outside of not mentioning Dwight. Literally saying Grant Hill's name for jersey retirement is kind of proof of that (unless the Magic wanted to take an extremely loose approach to jersey retirements moving forward).

By the way, our Orlando Magic are by the Official NBA history books, still tied as the 5th youngest franchise in NBA history. Our 0 titles to 35 seasons is still much more palatable than the mountain of NBA teams with 0-1 titles in 50-60+ seasons. This context also makes it, well, make a lot of sense, to retire Shaq and Penny's jerseys. The sheer amount of celebrity fame and sensational moments they brought was both an Orlando and global phenomenon completely unseen before. Paolo could bring a ring to Orlando in 4 seasons, and it still wouldn't equal half of the hype and draw of Shaq and Penny's days. Although for us real fans, Paolo would certainly become the biggest legend and GOAT of Magic history, even over the likes of Shaq. Paolo got the Dirk Nowitzki magic lined up, win just one single one in Orlando and your legendary status is cemented. He getting the statute with the jersey.

[Def Swami]

What an absolute fumble. They're so married to a boring, uninteresting logo, font, brand.

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[thelead]

What an absolute fumble. They're so married to a boring, uninteresting logo, font, brand.

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It's almost like they have to pay royalties for the old design. Nearly all magic fans have been asking for them to go back to the original pinstriped jerseys and they just refuse.

[eyriq]

What an absolute fumble. They're so married to a boring, uninteresting logo, font, brand.

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It's almost like they have to pay royalties for the old design. Nearly all magic fans have been asking for them to go back to the original pinstriped jerseys and they just refuse.

It has to be something like this and they are just cheap AF. OR they are the most tone deaf org in the cosmos.

[MagicStarwipe]

What an absolute fumble. They're so married to a boring, uninteresting logo, font, brand.

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So we're going to keep these crappy jerseys and logo forever?

[crazytown]

meanwhile it looks perfectly fine with one of the most storied franchises. what a joke

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[OrlMagic05]

was at the game and first, the ceremony was way too long considering it was after the game. Also, could others hear some fans being Devos?

[SS_MagicMark]

The replica jersey giveaway to fans after the ceremony was a clown show.

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[Furinkazan]

the ceremony was beautiful
his speech and how he acted there was amazing

having said that I still woudnt retire his number...
such things should be reserved for someone who wins multiple titles or at least one title for a home team
he didnt here and he left this team with no remorse
this is betrayal
he can say he was offended he can say it wa sbaout the money or not...i dont give a fk
he left this team run away to greener pastures of LA and this is what matters

[Kent]

The replica jersey giveaway to fans after the ceremony was a clown show.

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Yeah... I was really bummed they ran out before I could get one.

I'm not sure if they didn't order enough or people found ways to take multiple since they gave them away outside the arena.

I can only guess that they felt they needed a way to get fans to stay in the building for the ceremony, but come on -- it's Shaq! Plus Penny! Who wasn't staying? Just hand them at the ticket scan to ensure everyone got just one.

I really question if they ordered 19k+, enough for everyone.

It seems silly to be disappointed not to receive a free jersey that they didn't promise before I bought a ticket. But I think I'm more annoyed that they said everyone would get one right before the game ended and I wasn't even among the last to exit the building.

[bigdogdylan5]

The whole night was a disaster imo. It was a damn Tuesday night and the post game setup took forever. I didn’t get home till like 1:00 AM and totally regretted it. They had to have everyone speak and literally say the exact same thing felt so self important for Martins and Devos (little men need their moment). Should have just had David Steele, Nick Anderson, Penny, then Shaq. 3D did not have to have a speech. Shaq’s speech was harmless but **** strange and felt like a f you to the Devos family. I truly don’t have that big of an issue with the Devos family for the simple fact they really put their money where their mouths were during the Dwight run where they saw a possibility of contention. Other small market owners have cheaped out and screwed it up in the past. Now that will change very quickly if they cheap out with Paolo or their Son actually gets a role in basketball ops. But back to Shaq, it felt like he wanted to strong arm them to give you ownership stake which is dumb as ****. Maybe if you won us a championship but you left after 4 years. Honestly the jersey retirement felt like a stretch. Honestly JJ the night after felt way more genuine then anything Shaq said. Also he doesn’t **** know anyone on our team besides Paolo… that was so cringe and he didn’t even know the Wagner brothers apart. That’s how much effort he put in to this and had the gaul to get the fans on his side to get an ownership stake lol. Just strange. Not to mention the wanting to retire every name under the sun including Grant Hill whobarely played for us and his contract was the single most debilitating cap hit in our franchise history.

[BadMofoPimp]

Towards the end of the game when SVG and Shaq were commentating, Shaq didn't seem interested in his Jersey retirement when he claimed why didn't they retire it a few years ago when they celebrated him in some other ceremony.