The announcement of the NBA retiring Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey league-wide has once again sparked some discussion among Orlando Magic fans about how the team honors its history.
There is a strong argument — beyond the “everyone else is doing it” one — that Orlando should start hanging banners to commemorate their greatest players. The Magic are coming up to their 35th Anniversary season, so perhaps there will be a shift by then.
For now, the Magic are sticking with their Hall of Fame. And the team’s game of catch-up with its history is slowly revving back up after taking a bit of a hiatus for COVID. Part of the game is bringing the honorees back to the Amway Center. So the team has gone a bit simple with their honorees.
The Orlando Magic are continuing their Orlando Magic Hall of Fame program. As they look to catch up to their history, we break down who is in and who has an argument for inclusion in the Hall.
Last year, the team resumed its Hall of Fame program after taking a break for the pandemic-filled 2021 season. They added former general manager John Gabriel and coach Brian Hill to their collection of honorees. Both are more than deserving of their placement.
Orlando will likely resume trying to complete their additions to the Hall of Fame.
At this point, entering the team’s 34th year in the league and the 10th season with the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame — the program was started for the team’s 25th anniversary — the Magic have hit the biggest names already. But there are still obvious players who need their day in the sun.
Certainly, the Magic will continue going one at a time so that they can keep a healthy stream of players entering the Hall of Fame and give everyone their special day in the sun.
At this point, the question for the Magic as they try to construct their Hall of Fame is not about who should go in, but rather what order. And that order too is likely more about availability. The team surely has an internal list already.
This exercise is about building that internal list and sussing through who is on deck for this high honor from the Magic.