Orlando Magic Top 30: The Most Under-Appreciated Player in Orlando Magic History
26. Reggie Theus (1990)
When the Orlando Magic arrived in town, the team was the main attraction. The idea of the city having a NBA team and being a pro sports town was novel. The city treated everyone on the team like stars.
The Magic’s record that first year — 18-64 — was nothing special even though the team got off to a surprisingly strong start. Expansion teams rarely have the depth to last very long in the course of the season. And the team did not have any stars.
That expansion Magic team was led in scoring by Terry Catledge (keep reading for more on him) at 19.4 points per game. But the undoubted first “star” for the Magic was Reggie Theus.
Reggie Theus averaged 18.9 points per game and dished out 5.4 assists per game. Even though the two-time All-Star was on the tail end of his career, he was still very productive. And still pretty well known — he would go on after his playing career ended to star in the TV show Hang Time.
Theus was the engine on the inaugural team. Was the go to guy in crunch time. He was definitely underrated.
— Chris Knight (@KnightAlmighty) August 14, 2019
But his play was a lot more than the aesthetics, which are easier to remember from that time in team history. Theus was one of the first big point guards and was someone who commanded attention by stepping on the floor.
That made the young expansion Magic exciting. Theus was a key part of that equation for the team.