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Orlando Magic: 15 best draft picks of all time

By Philip Rossman-Reich

AUBURN HILLS, MI - JUNE 30: Chris Webber, number one overall pick by the Golden State Warriors, shakes hands with Penny Hardaway, number three overall pick by the Orlando Magic, during the NBA Draft at The Palace of Auburn Hills on June 30, 1993 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. 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 1993 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - JUNE 30: Chris Webber, number one overall pick by the Golden State Warriors, shakes hands with Penny Hardaway, number three overall pick by the Orlando Magic, during the NBA Draft at The Palace of Auburn Hills on June 30, 1993 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. 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 1993 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Mike Miller, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards
ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 30: Mike Miller #50 of the Orlando Magic is set to dunk during the game against the Washington Wizards at TD Waterhouse Centre on December 30, 2002 in Orlando, Florida. The Magic won 112-95. 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 2002 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images) /

2000 — Round 1, Pick 5

Name the two players who won Rookie of the Year in Orlando Magic history.

Shaquille O’Neal is the easy one. You probably said Dwight Howard for the other one. That would be wrong. And you probably guessed who the other one is by the header on this slide anyway.

The Magic took the sweet-shooting forward from up the road in Gainesville with the fifth pick and he immediately made an impact for a young team that needed some help with Grant Hill missing time.

Mike Miller quickly established himself as a key member of a playoff team, helping him edge out Kenyon Martin for the Rookie of the Year award. Mike Miller averaged 11.9 points per game and shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc that rookie year. He increased his scoring average to 15 points per game the following two seasons.

In three years with the Magic, he averaged 14.1 points per game and shot a respectable 50.6 percent effective field goal percentage. His broken hand in the 2002 season derailed Orlando some as the team struggled to advance out of the first round with Tracy McGrady.

But Mike Miller’s friendship with Tracy McGrady was a critical part of those teams. It is easy to say that Miller’s trade was one of the ways things began to fall apart in the McGrady era.

Orlando flipped their former rookie of the year for two promising rookies in Drew Gooden and Gordan Giricek. Neither delivered in quite the way Miller eventually would with the Memphis Grizzlies and throughout his entire career.