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Where does Nikola Vucevic rank among All-Time Magic Centers?

By Brett David Roberts

Apr 8, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) falls during an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. The Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) falls during an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. The Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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4. Ben Wallace

Grant Hill
Grant Hill /

in a sign and trade with the Pistons.

Wallace had played a big role in helping the Magic overachieve his one season in Orlando and a sign of his popularity can be remembered in the Orlando Sentinel’s keeping track of the team’s record with his “fro” or “corn row” hairstyles.

Wallace, of course, went on to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards while leading the Detroit Pistons to a championship. His first major impactful season came in Central Florida though.

And he is better than most of the centers that have come through this way, though a strong similarity between incumbent big man Dewayne Dedmon and Wallace is inspiring.  Wallace was a bit shorter than Dedmon at 6’9″, but the similarities in their style are what lend the comparison as true.  Both work exceptionally hard and make their calling card defensively.

Dedmon is not yet on the level of a prime Big Ben, but the model is there:  If Dewayne continues to work on keeping his fouling under control while crashing the boards just as hard, he could be the diamond in the rough that Wallace was coming as a free agent from the Washington Wizards.  Big Ben was only in Orlando for a season, but it was a very good season in terms of his per-minute impacts and what he would later become.

Next: The franchise talent; trade-salvaged