DIME ranks NBA2K’s all-time Orlando Magic in bottom five

The Orlando Magic may have a killer and popular starting five in NBA2K’s all-time team slate. But their poor depth shows there is more history to make first

The Orlando Magic have not had a long history — just 28 years. And they have had their stellar moments, but also plenty of middling play. There are some obvious stars, but even filling out a 15-man roster proved to be a difficult task. There are just not players everyone will agree to.

Players like Grant Hill, who will start on the NBA2K all-time team, raise debate among Magic fans since he played in only 200 games in six seasons with the Magic. His presence on the team got some people’s ire as Grant Hill is still something of a sore spot among some Magic fans.

Steve Francis played only a year and a half in Orlando — albeit, decently at 19.4 points per game. His time in Orlando was largely forgettable as the Magic waited for Dwight Howard to mature and grow.

Even Nikola Vucevic got some criticism. Mostly because he has not played on any Playoff team for the Magic and some accusations of recency bias.

In reality, the only two players who probably stand on iffy footing on the team are Aaron Gordon and Brian Shaw.

Largely NBA2K got this roster right. Outside of the obvious players who did not give their rights to be used in the game in Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, all the key figures in Magic history are there. Especially in the team’s killer starting lineup.

But there are all-time teams for every team in the NBA for NBA2K18. Fans will get the chance to play as some of their favorite all-time great players for multiple teams from Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls to Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers to Allen Iverson with the Philadelphia 76ers and Patrick Ewing with the New York Knicks. And so many more.

Not every team is going to be created equal. Some teams obviously have a much more storied and stronger history than the Magic. And that much is clear. Orlando’s depth drops off after that killer starting five of Anfernee Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal.

But where do they rank among the other all-time teams NBA2K is featuring?

Robby Kalland of DIME Magazine decided to try to answer that. And he did so in a simple way. He averaged the ratings of the 15 players on each team. This is where the Magic’s poor depth comes into play.

Orlando ranked as the 26th-best all-time team in the game:

"The Magic have a stacked starting lineup and then 10 players at an 85 or below on the bench."

Indeed, that starting lineup is probably one of the very best in the entire game. It is loaded with stars and some of the best, most popular players in the game. It is a bit clunky with two centers and one shooter, but the overall rating is strong.

Tracy McGrady leads the all-time team with a 95 rating. And Anfernee Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard are all 93s.

But after that, there is that considerable drop-off. Nick Anderson and Jameer Nelson are both an 85 rating, everyone else falls off from there with Bo Outlaw and Aaron Gordon coming in at an 80. This team indeed lacks some depth.

The LA Clippers came in at 25th and have eight players rated 85 or better. They do not have the top-end talent — Bob McAdoo is the highest rated at 94 — but there is a significantly better balance. That is what the DIME methodology rewards. It is simply a strict look at the team’s average overall rating.

In reality, the All-Time Magic might rank a few spots higher. And certainly, if Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis were on the team, the Magic would add a few more players rated in the 90s and take out two players rated at 80 (which appears to be the lowest rating given to any player on the all-time teams).

The other important point here is that, among 2K teams, these are all very good teams. They are certainly better than all the regular teams and probably better than most of the classic teams in the game. The all-time teams are all going to be fun to play with.

Orlando Magic

It provides a nice piece of nostalgia. As evidence by our over-coverage of this news (sorry, nothing else is happening in late August!).

But obviously, the teams with richer, deeper histories will perform a little bit better and have a much deeper and stronger roster.

The top team, as expected, is the Los Angeles Lakers. They feature 96-rated Elgin Baylor, 91-rated Wilt Chamberlain and 95-rated James Worthy coming off their bench. The Boston Celtics were second.

It is not surprising these two teams have the most titles in the league. Their stories have dominated the league’s history for its entire existence.

The Magic will get their shots in. And 2K players will love playing as them despite their relatively poor depth. That starting lineup is a lot of fun.

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But, like in real life, the Magic have a lot of history to make to take their place more firmly among the greatest teams or greatest all-time teams in NBA history.