The Orlando Magic Rivalry That Matters: The Miami Heat

The Orlando Magic have had several short-lived rivalries. But no rival has had a deeper meaning or longer-lasting feud than the Miami Heat.

The idea of a NBA rivalry has changed a lot in recent years.

The old heads on TNT will likely complain that players are too chummy these days — a product of their upbringing in the AAU All-Star circuit perhaps — and that player animosity is too low to create the “real” rivalries they grew up in.

The league itself has changed with how teams strategize and grow toward a championship. The advent of tanking and the “all-or-nothing” approach to winning has diluted championships. Even the growth of the Golden State Warriors and their dominance over the league has changed the nature of rivalries.

There are still rivalries in the NBA. LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors is probably the best one going right now. Each has gotten their licks on the other. The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets have a budding rivalry after last year’s Western Conference Finals scare. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers seem set to battle for the Eastern Conference for the next several years. Russell Westbrook has his personal rivalry with Kevin Durant.

The Step Back is currently running through the rivalries that matter in the NBA this year. You can read the write-up on the Celtics and 76ers above and this write-up on the “rivalry” between Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

These storylines are part of the rich tapestry that makes the NBA season go. The league is full of petty grievances — hello Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins — and character flourishes that make the league bigger than just who wins a championship. Although the best rivalries are still the stories built over years in the Playoffs like wrestling matches building to WrestleMania (go watch each Tomasso Ciampa-Johnny Gargano match in succession and tell me that build does not make each battle more satisfying).

The Orlando Magic throughout their history have had their share of rivalries. But one rivalry stands out.

It does not come from any severe on-court battle. Rather it is a geographic one. One of even culture.

The Orlando Magic’s clear-cut rival is the Miami Heat.

Those games, no matter how bad the Magic are, seem to carry meaning. Maybe more for the Magic than the Heat. But there is an undeniable buzz in the building when the Heat come to town. The games feel full of meaning and importance, even if they do not matter for the standings.

In the annals of Magic history, it is not the most obvious on-court rivalry. The Magic have come close to some pretty historic rivalries. But nothing else has been as impactful or longer lasting than the battle with the Heat.

The Indiana Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic in their first Playoff series only to turn around and stand in their way during the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals. That seven-game victory was cathartic — and became the secret villain of the Pacers’ real rivalry of the 1990s.

The same thing happened when the Orlando Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls that year in the second round only to face Michael Jordan‘s wrath the following year in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Magic did not stay on top long enough for either to register much, other than a few juvenile grudges against Jordan for ending the Magic’s run prematurely.

In the early 2000s, the Orlando Magic manufactured a rivalry against the Milwaukee Bucks when George Karl had choice words for the team hiring unproven coach Doc Rivers ahead of one of his longtime assistants. Magic fans immediately defended their new coach as Karl walked out to the floor to a chorus of boos and the “Imperial March” from Star Wars.

That rivalry got cemented by a Playoff series in 2001 as the second-seeded Bucks defeated the Magic in four games. But that series was incredibly one-sided as was the matchup throughout that era. The Bucks won 10 straight regular season games in the series from 1999-2002. Rivers even said at one point, you could not have a rivalry without each team getting their shots in.

The Orlando Magic’s potential rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers and James ended quickly with his departure. So too did the potential rivalry with the Celtics in the late 2000s as the Magic fell from their perch too quickly and the Celtics started to age — and found a new rival.

But the Heat have always been there. They have always been the team’s biggest test.

Orlando became the first team to reach the Finals in the 1990s and Miami quickly followed with a strong team of its own after Shaquille O’Neal left in 1996.

The two teams have met just once in the Playoffs in 1997. It was a surprising five-game series that saw Anfernee Hardaway put in two of the best individual playoff games in team history with back-to-back 40-point performances. The Heat were the better team and prevailed in the decisive fifth game.

It is strange because the Magic and Heat have rarely been good at the same time. The Heat acquired LeBron James and won their second title just as the Magic’s Dwight Howard era was ending. The two never faced each other.

But Dwight Howard and the Magic got their licks, including a 20-point comeback in Miami on TNT where Gilbert Arenas could not feel his face at the end.

The games have remained big even as the Magic have struggled.

Maybe it was because the young rebuilding team experienced so much heartbreak against the Heat and used the game as a measuring stick — the Heat had won 16 of 18 meetings from 2012-16.

Maybe it was because the Heat got the title first in 2006 and then won two more with James in two in 2011 and 2012. Their fans travel up the Turnpike and invade the Amway Center. It is a battle for the building’s soul when they come to town. And recently, the Magic have not had much to cheer and so the atmosphere feels 50/50 and electric each meeting.

Orlando has seen some big performances in this game befitting the stage it has created. Nikola Vucevic had his 20-point, 29-rebound game in his first season with the Magic against the Heat on New Years’ Eve 2012.

They even got a throwback performance from Serge Ibaka — a game-tying bucket most notably — in his final game in a Magic uniform. That game had meaning for him and for the team. Winning the season series that year for the first time since Howard left was a feather in the Magic’s cap.

But really, this is a battle for attention for Orlando.

Miami is the big city and glitzy destination. They got Shaquille O’Neal the title the Magic could not deliver. They are a model franchise around the league in many ways, turning all their advantages into success. Something Orlando would struggle to replicate.

While Orlando as a city has always seemingly tried to prove its place, Miami just waltzes in and gets attention.

It is the Heat that became a national brand, bringing their fans into the building. And that was even before James arrived on the scene. Heat fans were always a presence in the Orlando Arena too — although perhaps not as loud and Miami boisterous as they are after The Decision.

And now for the third straight year, the Magic will open their season against the Heat. Continuing to add charge to this game.

When it comes to rivalries and the Magic, none are as big or as meaningful as the one against the Heat. For several reasons clearly.

And it likely will always be that way.