Orlando Magic’s division championships are meaningless, their division banners are not

The Orlando Magic have hung a division championship banner in their practice facility. The act of winning the division must be a stepping stone to success.

Who knows how long the newest addition to the Orlando Magic practice court at Amway Center was hanging before someone took a photo of it or cared to document it for the public. In all likelihood, it will stay behind the closed doors at the AdventHealth Practice Facility and not in the arena bowl.

So maybe it was not even worth mentioning.

But there was Terrence Ross, taking a break and stealing some snacks from the Orlando Magic locker room while he took his family to see Disney on Ice, documenting for the world to see on his Instagram what he and his team fought through 82 games for.

Hanging on the wall of the practice court was a banner with the Magic’s secondary logo that read Southeast Division Champions 2018-19.

It is a curious thing. Division titles are completely meaningless now. They do not even guarantee a spot in the playoffs. It was just a sort of accident of the standings. Orlando was 42-40 and finished seventh in the Eastern Conference. That is hardly championship worthy.

A banner like this should not hang inside the Amway Center’s main bowl. The Magic should not overtly celebrate something so simple and, frankly, relatively easy.

But even on the way up the ladder, the small victories should get some recognition. A championship is the ultimate goal, but there are still steps to check off along the way. The first return to the playoffs and a division championship are part of that.

And for a team that struggled for six years to make the playoffs, it is a reminder of what they can accomplish and a way to celebrate a team that was special. It will at least be a physical reminder and appreciation for what that team did and where it stands in Magic history.

The division championship itself was meaningless. It did not help the Magic advance in the playoffs. But celebrating the accomplishment, even in a small way, is important.

But only important if it is a stepping stone to greater accomplishments — to more division titles to the point where it becomes boring or second rounds and conference finals and beyond. The Magic have to want to do more. A division banner celebrates a fun season but should also serve as a reminder of the baseline moving forward.

The Magic hung division banners for their first division titles in 1995 and 1996.

Winning that first division title was truly something to celebrate, even as the team would go on to win the top seed in the Eastern Conference. That was the first time the Magic could call themselves champions of anything.

For a young franchise it was an accomplishment and something completely new. It was the first thing to check off their list of accomplishments on their way up.

But that is all a division title should be. An item to check off the goals list, but one not necessary to the ultimate accomplishment.

The Magic, having been to the Finals twice in their 30-year history, publicly stated their goal was to win championships — even as they dug deep into a long and painful rebuild. The time to celebrate division championships is long past.

By the time the Magic moved into the Amway Center and division championships became a regular thing from 2008-2010, the team removed the division banners from the arena bowl. They remained ringing around the Magic’s practice court, including the banners for 2008-10.

And since the late-90s and into the 2000s, winning a division title is ultimately meaningless. Winning the division might have been an accomplishment in seven-team divisions (with a guaranteed top-2 seed in the playoffs). But it is not so impressive in the current five-team format.

Especially the Southeast Division where only the Magic made the playoffs (and it is considered a weaker division yet again this year). Winning the division again this year would not be something to celebrate unless it came with other benchmarks — home-court advantage, a playoff series win or a 50-win season, for instance.

Still, it is something. It is a championship. And a banner for winning a division title clearly has some meaning for that team.

If division championships were completely meaningless then a player like Terrence Ross would not even think to note the addition to the practice facility. Let alone put one of those heart-filled, musical filters on his Instagram story.

But the Magic have to have the bigger goal in mind moving forward now that this box is checked.

Championships are the pursuit. D.J. Augustin very clearly said that in an article for OrlandoMagic.com. The team wants to think big and continue to grow after getting their taste of the postseason.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2KizUkFycS/

The Magic still have bigger ambitions. Ambitions that do and should outpace a division title. The team certainly will not celebrate merely winning the Southeast Division again this year.

Winning that first division title is nice, but it has to be considered the first step. So a quiet celebration and recognition of success — it is still a championship of something, and Orlando went 10-6 against Southeast Division foes, tied for the group’s best mark.

But everyone knows it is not the end goal. Everyone knows there is more to accomplish and more to do. That banner becomes meaningless (and a little embarrassing) if the team does not return to the playoffs and make it the start of a longer run.

There was something to celebrate in the 2019 season, as small as it was. And it should be celebrated. The team’s return to the playoffs and return to some respectability and relevancy was important.

A division championship banner recognizes that accomplishment, even if it is just internally.

But it cannot be the end of the road. It cannot be the zenith of this team.

It is important to celebrate the small accomplishments on the way up. But the important thing is to recognize that these banners are stepping stones up the ladder. The Magic have a reason to celebrate and should celebrate the small accomplishments on the way up.

So long as they build upon them moving forward.