Our pals at the main Fansided site listed the defining players for each NBA franchise. Unsurprisingly, it was Shaquille O’Neal for the Orlando Magic.
When thinking of the Orlando Magic pantheon of great players, it is easy to pinpoint who defines each era of Magic basketball.
Nick Anderson defines its early days. Shaquille O’Neal defines its first championship run. Anfernee Hardaway its post-Shaq years. Darrell Armstrong the Heart & Hustle years. Tracy McGrady its early-2000s Playoff runs. And Dwight Howard its second title run.
But who defines the franchise? Which player had the deepest impact? Which player means a little bit more to the organization and its history when we tell its story?
Adam McGee of Fansided sought to answer that question as he listed the defining player for each NBA franchise. And when it came to the Magic, the answer seemed pretty obvious despite the great players who have been through the Magic.
It was last year’s Magic Hall of Fame inductee, Shaquille O’Neal.
McGee writes:
"In fact, Shaq’s numbers were never better than they were with Orlando either. For four seasons with the Magic, O’Neal averaged 27.2 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. It wasn’t just his individual stats that were impressive either.The problem for O’Neal was likely that on both occasions their run came to an end behind 4-0 sweeps. As a result, once O’Neal hit free agency he never looked back, instead opting for the limelight of Hollywood. In spite of only staying four seasons, O’Neal is ranked in the franchise’s all-time top five for points, rebounds and blocks, and impacted the team more than any other in his time in Orlando."
In the short space McGee had for his post, he did not quite encapsulate all O’Neal meant to the franchise. Certainly he had national importance as he became one of the great players in the league’s history.
In Orlando though, O’Neal does and still means a lot more.
He put Orlando on the map as a sports city. It is not likely the Magic are still in Orlando without the power O’Neal and those mid-1990s teams had. He change the perception of the city and gave it something other than Disney to represent it.
That is a powerful tool.
His departure also came to deeply impact the franchise. Orlando’s failure to re-sign O’Neal and losing him for nothing hurt the Magic for years. They never found another decent starting center again until they drafted Dwight Howard nearly a decade after his departure.
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And even in Howard’s departure, the Magic seemed determined to avoid making the same mistake that left them high and dry after O’Neal’s departure. That is the extent of the impact and emotional scarring from O’Neal.
Not to mention O’Neal continued to needle the Magic franchise after his departure and into the Dwight Howard era. It seemed even after he left, the Magic were still trying desperately to prove themselves to their former All Star center.
There was some closure when the team named him to the team’s Hall of Fame last year. The hatchet appeared to be buried and the fans and the team honored him properly (or not, depending on how you feel about the importance of retiring jerseys).
Undoubtedly though, no player had as big an impact on the team and the organization as O’Neal.