Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

Orlando Magic Best of the Decade: The All-2010s Team

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson saw their era end in the 2010s. But they are still titans in the Orlando Magic's history. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson saw their era end in the 2010s. But they are still titans in the Orlando Magic's history. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 9
Next
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic
Nikola Vucevic has faced criticism his entire Orlando Magic career while quietly building an impressive resume. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

The Sixth Man: Nikola Vucevic (2013-20)

There is still a lot of unnecessary hand-wringing about Nikola Vucevic and his legacy with the Orlando Magic.

For six years, he was the guy who had to replace Dwight Howard, an unenviable task. The last time the Magic replaced a center, it took them eight years and a constant rotation of centers to even try.

Rony Seikaly could not do it as the most immediate and most successful successor. Andrew DeClercq is the center who started the most games between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.

Those are big shoes for Vucevic. And he was not Howard — almost completely different.

Vucevic was an offensive weapon with defensive shortcomings. He was never featured even as he put up solid numbers for the Magic.

Too often, the Magic’s focus was on developing the players they drafted and it seemed everyone longed to move on from Nikola Vucevic, finding the center that could more clearly take Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard’s mantle.

All the while, Vucevic kept putting up numbers. He averaged a double-double and was the most consistent player on a team that was inconsistent. A team that was going nowhere fast.

Vucevic was the last remaining player from those teams. He was the one that seemed to outlast the failed rebuild and so he came to embody it.

That was even the case when he finally got the offense run through him and delivered the success the Magic were missing. He became the team’s first All-Star since Howard and led the team to their first playoff berth.

Vucevic’s consistency matters. Even if the results do not show it completely.

The Magic may ultimately move on from Vucevic. But he is probably still the second-best player to wear a Magic uniform this decade. Which is probably a clue to who the best is — the man Vucevic always struggled to measure up against.