Marreese Speights came to Orlando to play for his hometown Orlando Magic. It was a dream come true. And he did just enough to be satisfied.
Marreese Speights arrived in Orlando this summer with few expectations for what his role would be.
At this point, he knew exactly who he was as a player just as everyone knew exactly what he was. The team figured there would be a few games where his shooting sparked the team in a way no one else could. And for the most part, they would have to stomach the defense.
Really, that August day when Speights arrived at the Amway Center, he was just happy to be home. This was a homecoming. A way to be close to his family. And a way to live out a dream.
Growing up in St. Petersburg, he cheered for the Orlando Magic growing up. The rare NBA game he went to would come at the old Orlando Arena. This was a dream, and he was happy just to hear the Magic were interested. A minimum contract was more than what he could have wanted.
To say the least, Speights was everything that everyone expected. He hit 3-pointers in bunches and was not afraid to pull the trigger. He worked hard and understood himself. But he had vast limitations. Limitations that everyone knew about when he signed up.
The Magic having to use him at backup center for much of the year was probably a bit too much. That was more of a sign of the team’s injuries and relatively poor roster construction as much as anything. Orlando simply could not avoid playing him.
He knew that by the end of the season, with how this season went especially, he was not going to be an important cog. And so he took the role of big brother.
Speights did what the Magic expected him to do all season. No more, and really no less. It was a successful season for him on that front at least. He was productive more often than not. And even played better defense than some might expect with his ability to take charges.
All in all, he was Mo’ Speights.