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Orlando Magic Daily Podcast Episode 46: Preparing for NBA London with James Plowright

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Oct 24, 2015; London, United Kingdom; General view of NFL on Regent Street before the International Series game between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2015; London, United Kingdom; General view of NFL on Regent Street before the International Series game between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Orlando Magic are getting set to head to London for their game against the Toronto Raptors. We have many questions about the London Game experience.

A trip nearly 23 years in the making is finally occurring this week after the Orlando Magic complete a back to back against the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards this weekend.

The Magic will travel to London on Monday for the week to play in the NBA London game against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. While it serves as a small disruption to the season, the team will be representing the league and the city in a growing market for basketball.

Growing might be putting it kindly. Basketball in the United Kingdom and Great Britain has come to a virtual standstill after the national team struggled in the 2012 Olympics in London. While the NBA has invested more in the region from a business standpoint, there have been problems growing the grass roots of the sport.

That will not stop fans from packing the O2 Arena in London for Thursday’s game between the Magic and the Raptors. Even without any marquee superstars on either team — although Kyle Lowry still has a realistic shot to start in the All-Star Game — the game is a complete sell out and there is excitement building for the game itself.

To learn a little bit more about basketball in London and what to expect from the game, I turned to our good pal James Plowright of The Lottery Mafia. James will be covering the game for Orlando Magic Daily and filing reports from London for us.

He joined the podcast to fill us in on what the game will be like and what to look forward to and provide his perspective from across the pond on the Magic.

On This Episode:

  • How do fans react to NBA basketball in London? What is their basketball knowledge?
  • What is the NBA’s goal in holding these games?
  • How do you follow the NBA in London?
  • Is Dwight Howard the reason there are so many Magic fans in London? What impact does the dunk contest have in fandom?
  • Are the Magic looking to head to England to bring in more tourists to games?
  • Is Nikola Vucevic an empty stats player? How can he improve his defense? Is this THE question for the Magic?
  • Do the Magic go all defense to help Vucevic? How do they save their offense?
  • Do the Orlando Magic have a trade in them? How should they respond to their competitiveness this season?
  • What do the Magic do with Victor Oladipo?
  • How do you pair Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton? Can they?
  • What kind of coach is Scott Skiles? Can he continue the growth with this team or just get them to the Playoffs?
  • What will be the benefits to the Magic this season for having the London game?

It is all a bit foreign what the atmosphere will be like and how the NBA and basketball interact with the United Kingdom.

There is a lot going into this game too. The Magic obviously will need a win to keep up in the jumbled Eastern Conference. And also, like their trip to Brazil, this is an opportunity to bring their product to one of the largest groups traveling to Orlando in tourism.

Not to mention many Magic fans still remain in London from the Shaq and Penny days and their trip to London for an exhibition game with the Atlanta Hawks in 1992.

Magic fans in the United Kingdom have been waiting a long time for this.

For those of us not lucky enough to head across the pond, there is still a bit of an excitement even if we will not get the same experience as those there live.

Be sure to follow James Plowright on Twitter @JPlowright_NBA and follow all his work from the London Games here on Orlando Magic Daily, at Raptors HQ and follow him generally at The Lottery Mafia and Queen City Hoops.

Next: Nikola Vucevic talks about upcoming London trip

We look forward to hearing him from London throughout the week!