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Orlando Magic Top 30: The Most Under-Appreciated Player in Orlando Magic History

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Everyone remembers the Orlando Magic's superstars like Dwight Howard. What about players we don't talk about much like Jason Richardson? (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Everyone remembers the Orlando Magic's superstars like Dwight Howard. What about players we don't talk about much like Jason Richardson? (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) /
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Cuttino Mobley, Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics
Even though Cuttino Mobley was with the Orlando Magic a short time, his play stood out. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

18. Cuttino Mobley (2005)

If you blinked, you might have missed Cuttino Mobley’s time with the Orlando Magic. It really did not last too long — just 23 games after the Orlando Magic acquired him from the Houston Rockets in the Tracy McGrady trade.

Cuttino Mobley is probably more remembered for being Steve Francis’ sidekick. And his departure was the cause for Francis’ decline with the team. Not to mention what an utter disaster Doug Christie ended up being.

So Mobley goes down in history more for not being with the Magic or being absent from the Magic and the effects that absence had on the team.

There was no certainty the Magic would have made the playoffs in 2005 when Mobley was traded. The bigger factor in that season was Grant Hill’s sports hernia late in the season and Hedo Turkoglu’s broken arm shortly after that. The Magic were still on track to make the playoffs.

But Mobley’s precious few months in Orlando should not get forgotten.

He averaged 16.0 points per game and shot 46.4 percent from beyond the arc. He was a great player ad helped the Magic stay in the playoff race with a rookie in Dwight Howard at center and an offseason removed from trading a soon-to-be Hall of Fame player.

The reasons for trading Mobley are still a bit murky.

The Magic needed to improve their defense for sure and Doug Christie was still considered one of the best defenders in the league. But he was nowhere near the shooter Mobley was and it was clear very early on that Christie had no interest in being with the Magic at all.

Appreciation for Mobley is muted because his time with the team was so short. It should not get forgotten.