Revisiting the Orlando Magic’s infamous 2012 Season

The Orlando Magic entered the 2011 offseason coming off of four straight finishes in the top half of the Eastern Conference. What transpired the next year could only be seen as a complete disaster.

The 2012 season was a very memorable one in Orlando Magic history, but not for the right reasons. Despite the lockout cutting the season down 66 games and starting play on Christmas, a season’s worth of drama was packed in those five months. And it forever changed the franchise’s fortune and path.

Even before any games would be played, the Magic were hit with two pieces of horrible news: there would be a lockout and, worst of all, that franchise superstar Dwight Howard wanted out.

The Magic’s contending road had come to an end. Howard sought greener pastures as he was barred from contact from the team during the Lockout.

Howard seemed to forecast a continued downward trend for the team, and he turned out to be right. After four straight seasons finishing in the top 10 in offensive rating and top five in defensive rating, the Magic ended 2012 ranked 14th in both stats.

One question that cannot be solved is whether they would have played better throughout the season without the chemistry problems the awkward “Dwightmare” situation created. The whole season, he made it seem as if all his teammates and coaches were unworthy of his talents or incapable of returning the Magic to true contention.

The Magic rolled along during the start of the season despite the uncertainty in the direction of the franchise. Orlando agreed the team would do everything it could to accede to Howard’s trade demand. And Howard agreed to play out his contract and consider what the Magic could offer to keep him. The Magic entered what was thought to be Howard’s last game with a record of 28-15.

Whatever happened on the flight home from the blowout loss at San Antonio convinced Howard to waive his early termination option and commit for the rest of the season. It appeared the Magic would be ready to make a playoff push. They then won four of the next six to take a 32-18 record into Madison Square Garden.

At that point in the season, the Magic were third in the East and seemed to be inching toward a spot in the top half of the Eastern Conference.

However, chemistry issues resurfaced. Stan Van Gundy went public with Dwight Howard’s conversation with ownership about Van Gundy’s job. Things only got awkward from there.

The Magic lost five straight. In the win that broke that streak, Howard, playing through tremendous back pain, delivered his final great 20-20 performance in a Magic uniform. After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, Howard would never play another game for the Magic.

They finished the season 37-29 and fell to the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

The excitement of Game One just delayed the inevitable, as that Magic team was not good enough to win a playoff series without their star. The Pacers locked down, winning a blowout in Game Three and an overtime win at Amway Center in Game Four before closing things out in Game Five.

The aftermath was the Magic decided to fire Van Gundy, trade Howard (with a full season left on his contract) and begin an all-out rebuild.

They did have two big positives that year: Ryan Anderson and J.J. Redick‘s performances.

Anderson came alive as a perfect front court complement to Howard.

During the 2012 season (which saw his minutes rise from 22 to 32 per game), Anderson averaged 16.1 points per game, averaged 7.7 rebounds per game and shot 39.3 percent from three with high volume.

Those box score numbers were the main reason he won the Most Improved Player Award.

His success was mostly due to increased opportunity, but he sure took advantage of the bigger role. His per-36 numbers were similar to the previous seasons. He impressed in his ability to keep his efficiency strong with a higher usage.

That season, his PER was 21.2, he had a 4.6 box plus-minus, and 8.9 win shares. As a comparison, Paul Millsap was named an All Star his first season with Atlanta with a 19.8 PER, 6.7 win shares, and a 3.1 box plus-minus. Blake Griffin finished his incredible 2015 season with a 22.8 PER, 9.0 win shares, and a 4.1 box plus-minus.

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His most underrated skill was his rebounding ability, specifically on the offensive end. Playing with another great rebounder in Dwight Howard likely inhibited his conversions on rebounding opportunities, especially on the defensive side.

Despite playing with an elite rebounder, he grabbed 13.8 percent of overall rebound opportunities and 13 percent on offense. As a comparison, superstar DeMarcus Cousins has collected more than 13 percent of available offensive rebounding opportunities only once in his six-year career.

Anderson shined his brightest that season, a contract year at that, and proved he was not just a spot-up shooter off the bench.

Redick proved a lot too. He set career highs in minutes played, starts, points per game, 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage that year.

His ability to move off the ball, make smart plays and hit shots consistently made him an incredibly dynamic player. He probably should have started even more games. Redick had also improved to a respectable level on defense.

If Dwight Howard would not have requested a trade, and rather attempted to lead the Magic toward a resurgence at the top of the league, they probably would have played better that year. They presumably would have held on to Anderson, Redick and Van Gundy for the foreseeable future as well.

If Howard’s back did not get hurt, the Magic likely would have held onto the third seed in the Eastern Conference with home-court advantage and a chance to advance in the Playoffs that season. Howard’s defensive presence at the time gave the Magic at least a chance against the Miami Heat.

But it was clear the team was declining overall, mostly due to the rapid deterioration of guys like Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson. They also did not have cap flexibility and did not have any young assets due to trading away past draft picks. The Magic had few options to improve their team to keep a superstar like Howard in free agency.

There is a reasonable argument to be made Howard would have been better off staying with Orlando. His career has deteriorated too since leaving.

He would not sniff the top 15 of jersey sales again in his career, which is symbolic of the public perception of him after wavering so much in his decision. Staying in Orlando and continuing to be the center of the offense would have probably led to him maintaining his big numbers and beloved persona.

But it would have taken a lot of creativity from the front office to turn a core of Howard, Anderson, Redick and not much else into a contender. The Magic may have ended up staying put in the dreaded 8-10 seed range for a few years until the cap increase gave them more money to deal with or certain players’ contracts expired.

It remains to be seen whether leaving was worth it for Howard, and it also is very possible bottoming out was inevitable for the Magic regardless of their superstar’s happiness.

Next: Orlando Magic history is a giant 'what if?'

One thing is certain. The 2012 season was a weird year. And one Orlando Magic fans will remember in infamy. It was the end of the fun era that was the Dwight Howard/Stan Van Gundy period of title contention.