One of this rebuild’s failures is the inability to procure a star. As the Orlando Magic head into another season, one figure emerges above the others as the “face” of the franchise
Since Dwight Howard‘s departure back in 2012, the Orlando Magic have lacked a recognizable, certifiable star. They have had players challenge for All-Star contention — Arron Afflalo and Nikola Vucevic among them. But none have come even close to being household names in the NBA.
Few other teams have this unfortunate distinction. Only the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers particularly stand out, neither team being anywhere close to serviceable. This is not great company to be keeping. And the Lakers have come out of their rebuild with potential stars in Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball.
This was evident when Dan Feldman of NBC’s ProBasketballTalk asked which NBA team had the worse ‘face’ earlier this month:
Who's the worst current face of an NBA franchise in terms of current basketball ability (assuming all teams have a player who is face)?
— Dan Feldman (@DanFeldmanNBA) August 2, 2017
While Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder was a popular choice, Orlando came up as a repeated answer too. It was as much a statement of the Magic’s lack of notoriety in the national conversations and their struggles to find their footing in a rebuild as much as their inability to define their roster:
While several named Aaron Gordon as the Magic’s “face,” others were less sure. Naturally, this leads to an interesting question: who is the “face” of the Orlando Magic?
As a team who still lack an obvious star, deciding upon the “face” is not an easy task. But by looking at what constitutes a “face”, and at the current roster, one name soon stands out among the rest.