Orlando Magic Top 25: The search for the most popular player in Orlando Magic history

This year in the Orlando Magic Top 25, we are searching for the most popular player in team history. And we are looking for your help to compile our list.

There are timeless debates that go on within each NBA franchise. A debate that only builds as history and time march on.

Debates over who the best player in team history is and who the best team is help tell the story of the franchise. But they also say a lot about a person and their values. They reveal personal preferences. Perhaps the generation a person grew up in. They reveal a lot about the person making the debate in their argument as much as they try to find a definitive answer.

There is that part of the debate. Then there is the statistical evidence that backs things up. To figure out who the best team or best player might be, there are plenty of statistical models someone could use to quantify that list. There may be a definitive answer. Or at least something close to it.

No matter where anyone stands on the actual ordering of these things, there is a “Mt. Rushmore” for both the best team and best players in Orlando Magic history.

However you want to order them, the Magic’s four Eastern Conference finalist teams — 1995, 1996, 2009 and 2010 — are the best teams in Magic history.

And the four best players are quite clearly Shaquille O’Neal, Anfernee Hardaway, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard. Two of those players are already in the Hall of Fame. One might have an argument for it if it were not for the injuries that derailed his career. And the other will surely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer five years after he retires.

These are not so much up for debate.

Ranking them is where the arguments lie. And we had those arguments and discussions here on Orlando Magic Daily the last two years. You can revisit our lists below:

But those teams and those players do not tell the whole story of Magic history.

Those teams and those players are the Magic at their best. They are the ones who easily bring people into the team’s orbit and make fans. But they are not always the one that keeps fans.

Those belong to the grinders and the teams that capture a fan’s heart with their personality. It takes a little something different to be truly popular and become a fan favorite.

The 1999-2000 “Heart and Hustle” team is a perfect example of this. That team had zero superstars, failed to make the Playoffs (lasting to the season’s final day) and wildly surpassed expectations. Despite all of this, we ranked that team the 12th best team in franchise history last year. Barely in the top half.

Yet, that team and that season are one of the most beloved in the franchise’s history. There is no way to quantify it or those players. Except to say they are popular. It is something that goes beyond numbers and goes to feelings.

The Magic have had plenty of teams reach that kind of level of nostalgia. Just like they have had plenty of players who may not have been the best players on their individual teams, but remain deeply embedded within the franchise’s story and how fans think of these teams.

So who are the most popular players in Magic history?

That is what we will endeavor to rank and discuss in this year’s edition of the Orlando Magic Top 25. And because popularity is something so difficult to quantify — and ultimately belongs to the fans — we want your input.

The Orlando Magic Daily staff is putting together their lists of the most popular players in team history. But our voice is just as loud as yours. Send your nomination and votes for the most popular players. Who would you like to see included?

Then next week, follow Orlando Magic Daily on Twitter @omagicdaily to vote in a daily poll to help set the fan’s vote. From there, we will compile our list and come out with a final ranking of the top 25 players in Magic history.

What is popularity? Whatever you want it to be. Everyone will come to this question with their own approach. It certainly is not merely who is the best player — although better players tend to be more popular. And, we will try to respect older players who may quickly get lost to history as memories fade and newer fans enter the fray. The list may skew toward more recent players for sure.

I look forward to seeing your suggestions and who you view as the most popular players in franchise history.