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Welcome to OMD’s Orlando Magic 35th Anniversary Celebration

By Philip Rossman-Reich

BOSTON, : Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic drives past Eric Montross of the Boston Celtics 20 March, in Boston, Massachusetts. O'Neal finished with 28 points, with the Magic winning 112-90. AFP PHOTO John MOTTERN/jm (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP/Getty Images)
BOSTON, : Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic drives past Eric Montross of the Boston Celtics 20 March, in Boston, Massachusetts. O'Neal finished with 28 points, with the Magic winning 112-90. AFP PHOTO John MOTTERN/jm (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Five years ago, it did not really feel like there was much to celebrate for the Orlando Magic.

The team was in a long playoff drought with few prospects for breaking through. It seemed like the team was not even stuck in the middle, but hoping for a way up and out.

The 2019 season, of course, turned into a (pun very intended) magical season. The team went 22-9 to close the season, rallying from a five-game deficit and reach the playoffs for the first time since Dwight Howard left the team in 2012.

It was a historic season for the Magic and one that felt very earned and deserved, even if the team ultimately had a ceiling.

Over the years, the Magic went as far as they could with that specific group. They have obviously flipped things over.

The Orlando Magic are preparing to celebrate their 35th anniversary season. And so are we as we celebrate Magic history this month including with a vote of the top players in franchise history.

And now five years later, the Magic find themselves celebrating their 35th anniversary season witha group they hope can anchor the franchise for the next decade. And lead to a long run of postseason success.

Amazing what can change in five years. And if everything goes right, this will be a season to celebrate for the Magic as they begin a long postseason run.

But it is still August. There is a long way to go before the team gathers again in October. There will be plenty of time throughout the season not only to look to the future for this team as the present plays out, but also to celebrate the 35th anniversary season.

We are not going to wait. This August, we at Orlando Magic Daily are going to celebrate the Orlando Magic’s history for the 35th anniversary season. We will share stories, ideas and retrospectives on the team’s history.

Anchoring this will be an update to our list of the greatest players in Magic history. We have not done one of these since we bracketed the top players in franchise history for a tournament-style ranking during the pandemic in 2020.

So we will be ranking our top 35 players in Magic history. The staff here at Orlando Magic Daily is compiling their lists of their top players. But we always want to include you, our readers, in the polling.

What we would like you to do then is rank at least a top 10 and up to a top 20 in the poll at this link or fill out the survey below:

We will compile those results with our group results and unveil the full list of the top 35 players throughout the month.

Voting will close August 8 so we can begin compiling the list.

Next. The 5 best Orlando Magic trades of the last 10 years. dark

And we will celebrate the Magic’s history throughout the month of August as we continue making our list. Looking forward to seeing the results!