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NBA2K provides a Christmas gift — Rashard Lewis in NBA2K18!

By Philip Rossman-Reich

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 27: Rashard Lewis #9 of the Orlando Magic shoots against JaVale McGee #34 of the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on November 27, 2010 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 27: Rashard Lewis #9 of the Orlando Magic shoots against JaVale McGee #34 of the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on November 27, 2010 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Orlando Magic fans who open up NBA2K18 this holiday season will find a sweet surprise. Rashard Lewis has been added to the game and the all-time Magic!

When NBA2K announced it was going to have all-time teams for each franchise, every fan base got excited trying to predict who would make their team’s rosters. It was a fun exercise and a chance for each fan base to revel in their own history.

Then the rosters came out and there were a few exclusions that had fans scratching their heads. The teams were incomplete.

Some of that was from decisions from the video game itself. Others were because of rights deals the game had not secured. Not every retired player had signed up to be in the game.

For the Orlando Magic’s all-time team, there were two major exclusions — Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. It felt the team was extremely incomplete. But neither player had signed up to be in the game.

The Magic’s team was still great — stop salivating at having Anfernee Hardaway throw alley-oops to Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard — but it was not as good as it could be (still, Brian Shaw… really?).

This Christmas (or the next time you download an update to the game), one of those errors got rectified.

Rashard Lewis is back in the NBA2K game.

NBA2K announced Saturday it had updated several players and teams in the game, including adding Lewis to the all-time Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder teams. Apparently, several historic players had finally agreed to be in the game, no doubt spurred by fans who wanted to see them included.

So the all-time Magic now feels a little more complete. With a starting lineup of Anfernee Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal, it is a group that stands out as much as any franchise. The bench features solid role players like Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott and Jameer Nelson. Lewis only adds further star power to the team. And he takes his rightful place on the team.

No doubt, Lewis is one of the best players in Magic history and worthy of a place on the all-time Magic.

Lewis averaged 16.3 points per game on a 54.1 percent effective field goal percentage in four seasons. That coincided with the best-sustained run in Magic history. Orlando went to the Playoffs all four years, winning the Southeast Division three times and reaching the NBA Finals in 2009 and Eastern Conference Finals in 2010.

Lewis is rated an 88 on the All-Time Magic team, the fifth-highest on the all-time Magic.

It does not appear NBA2K will be adding any more classic teams so the 2010 Orlando Magic are not likely the next team to join — but you can create them yourself now as at least one user did:

The Magic still need Hedo Turkoglu to sign on to get the 2009 Magic in the game. Magic fans are certainly waiting patiently for that.

Next: Penny Hardaway or Tracy McGrady? Darrell Armstrong weighs in

But the next thing NBA2K has to do is fix Aaron Gordon. The latest update apparently left him with bleached hair.