Top 20 Shooters in Orlando Magic History
T17. Jodie Meeks
By Philip Rossman-Reich
Since Dwight Howard’s departure (and then the trade of J.J. Redick a year later), the Orlando Magic have lacked an ace shooter. It was always the biggest thing the young roster needed. They had no way to space the floor and no way to spread defenses out.
Without that, many of Orlando’s young players struggled to find their footing.
In the summer of 2016, Orlando looked to resolve that, acquiring sharpshooter Jodie Meeks from the Detroit Pistons. He seemed like the perfect player to help surround the Magic’s suddenly big lineup with Nikola Vucevic, Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo all fighting for space in the Magic’s front court.
Meeks would have provided that space. And when he played, he certainly did that. Meeks shot 40.9-percent from beyond the arc, shooting almost exclusively from beyond the arc. He had a big burst game in early January of that 2017 season, making six 3-pointers in a win over the New York Knicks.
His 40.9-percent shooting from beyond the arc is still one of the top marks in Magic history (second in Magic history, in fact).
The problem was the leg injury that limited him to three games in the 2016 season with the Detroit Pistons followed him to Orlando. He played in only 36 games in a Magic uniform, missing large chunks of the beginning of the season and most of February and March.
By the time he was playing, the Magic were already out of the playoff chase and shifting their focus to rebuilding — and clearing the decks for Rob Hennigan’s ultimate departure.
Meeks was a good acquisition. He was the exact player that Magic team needed. And he was a great shooter when he could play. But he was unable to overcome his injury. He played sparingly in two more seasons as a gifted shooter slowly faded out of the league.