Ben Wallace will always be associated with the Detroit Pistons.
He was flanked on the stage and during his induction ceremony to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame by teammates from the 2004 Pistons team as the first of that group to enter the hall — he certainly will not or should not be the last.
To Orlando Magic fans, it probably brought up some really bad memories and some nightmares for Magic fans as Ben Wallace was a constant tormentor for the Magic in two eras — with Tracy McGrady up 3-1 in the first round and in the early days with Dwight Howard.
His journey to get to the Hall of Fame is literally from a storybook. He went undrafted out of small HBCU Virginia Union. He toiled three years with the Washington Bullets/Wizards before getting a real opportunity with the Heart & Hustle Magic.
He did not make headlines with that team, but he perfectly set the standard for what that team was about — toughness and hungry for a chance.
The Magic were the ones that gave him to the Pistons and from there he blossomed into a four-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, an NBA champion and now a Hall of Famer.
Ben Wallace entered the Basketball Hall of Fame adding to the list of Orlando Magic alumni in the Hall. It has us wondering who comes next from the Magic family.
As Wallace said in his speech, he was always told he was too small and did not fit the NBA. He worked hard and proved everyone wrong through the process.
The Magic can take at least a little ownership of Wallace, although not much. That one year was proof of concept of Wallace’s place in the NBA. He was the starting center on a team that surprised everyone and fell one game short of the playoffs.
Wallace entered Springfield one of the most unlikeliest players to get there. And if the Magic could play a little part in getting him there all the better.
He joins Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal, Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill among the Magic alumni to enter the Hall of Fame. The only question we have left is who comes next?
The list of Magic alumni who are set to make the Hall of Fame is starting to thin. There will be at least a few names popping up for eligibility soon. But no player primarily known for his time with the Orlando Magic — perhaps McGrady is the only true Magic player in the Hall of Fame at the moment with maybe O’Neal (although his titles came with the Los Angeles Lakers) — is set to enter the Hall of Fame until Dwight Howard makes his trip to Springfield.
It will be a little bit of a wait for the Magic to again celebrate one of their own entering the hall.
But with Wallace off the board, the question now becomes who has next for the Hall of Fame. Which Magic alum will get their call next?
The truth is, it will come sooner than we think with at least one sure lock set to become eligible soon. Updating our list from a few years ago, here are five players who are next for the Hall of Fame — not to be confused with the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame.