Orlando Magic Shooting Month: Top 20 shooters in Orlando Magic history
Top 20 Shooters in Orlando Magic History
13. Cuttino Mobley
By Zach Oliver
While his time was short-lived in Orlando, Cuttino Mobley was a dead-eye shooter in his 23 games with the Orlando Magic. Acquired with Steve Francis in the blockbuster trade that sent Tracy McGrady to the Houston Rockets, Cuttino Mobley was Francis’ right-hand man and every defense’s worst nightmare.
In his short, yet overall impactful, stint with the Magic, Mobley shot an absurd 46.4-percent from beyond the arc on 5.5 attempts per game. Equate those numbers out to today’s game and Mobley could very well be in the conversation for one of, if not the best shooters, in the league.
A career 37.8-percent shooter from deep, Mobley saw his career in the league cut short due to a heart condition, but he has come back with a vengeance keeping defenses honest in the BIG 3 league.
He ranks 151st all-time in three-point percentage in NBA/ABA history and could have had a bigger impact on the Magic had he not been shipped to the Sacramento Kings for Doug Christie, a move that sent his running mate Steve Francis into a downward spiral that inevitably led to his time with the Orlando Magic also coming to a close.
Had Mobley stuck with the Magic for a longer period of time, I think his shooting prowess could have helped them a lot.
We saw how the team transitioned into a three-point juggernaut with Dwight Howard once they added Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu to the mix, and having someone like Mobley early on I think could have helped with that transition in playing styles.
Overall, I think Mobley was maybe a little ahead of his time. He would have likely flourished in the new pace and space style teams are playing these days. I cannot help but think about the kind of impact a shooter with the gravity of Mobley could do to help a young Magic team devoid of shooting these days.
I ranked Mobley as the 10th best shooter in Magic history. While the sample size is definitely smaller than I would like to see, shooting 46.4-percent across any stretch of games is worthy of being on a list of the best shooters the franchise has ever seen.