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Orlando Magic: Top 5 Benches of All time

By Vincent Mcmillan

Oct 30, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) and forward Aaron Gordon (00) react on the bench as the Washington Wizards beat the Magic 105-98 at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) and forward Aaron Gordon (00) react on the bench as the Washington Wizards beat the Magic 105-98 at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
Jan 16, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons Ben Wallace smiles after the game against the Golden State Warriors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 113-95. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

5. 1999-2000

Significant Bench Contributors

PG Chucky Atkins 9.5 Pts/1.5 Reb/3.7 Ast

SF Pat Garrity  8.2 Pts/2.6 Reb/0.7 Ast

SF Corey Maggette 8.4 Pts/3.9 Reb/0.8 Ast

PF Chris Gatling 13.3 Pts/6.6 Reb/0.9 Ast

C John Amaechi 10.5 Pts/3.3 Reb/1.2 Ast

The Heart and Hustle Magic make the top five benches for a few reasons.

During this season, the Magic had no real star to lean on or even a go-to guy among the average talent level on the roster. With all the roster spots holding an equal amount of talent, coach Doc Rivers distributed the minutes evenly among the team.

The even playing time helped the Magic to play full throttle at all times and overachieve for the season.

Being able to pull almost 50 points from your bench is an awesome tool for any team. The key to this bench is the balance scoring. No one player was truly dominant and everyone had the green light if the shot was open.

That balance kept opponents guessing as to who they should focus their energy on. Veterans Chris Gatling and John Amaechi were two of the more consistently contributors playing 23 and 21 minutes per game respectively and were efficient with the time given.

While this bench didn’t have any household names, they did their job and stayed competitive. The heart and hustle given night in and night out almost earned this team a playoff spot with a .500 record.

Their efforts gained the respect of Magic fans and earned them the Fifth spot of Magic Benches of all time.