David Steele's voice became the soundtrack of Orlando Magic history

Whenever there was a big moment for the Orlando Magic, you knew you were going to get a great call.

Take the moment depicted as the image to this post. Nov. 10, 2025, the Orlando Magic tied with the Portland Trail Blazers early in the season. This could have been a mundane Monday basketball game. The finish guaranteed it would be magic.

David Steele's call would guarantee it lived on long after that.

The Magic inbounded the ball to Desmond Bane on a curl. And he heaved a fading away three for his first big moment in a Magic uniform since the summer's humongous trade.

Steele's call:

"Looking, no timeouts left. The pass comes to Bane. Bane hoists it at the buzzer. HE DRILLS IT! It's Magic on a Monday night! 115-112, the final."

That call in all of its simplicity does so much. Provides basic information for anyone watching it anywhere at any time. Hits the emotional peak. Steele even had the experience to know to stay quiet after all the basics were out of the way and let the cheering in the Kia Center carry the emotion.

That is the art of the broadcaster. Knowing both how to convey information and emotion, when to speak and when to be quiet.

And that is what has defined Steele to so many Magic fans. A perfect soundtrack for the team and, for many, the only voice they have ever known.

David Steele is as much a part of Magic basketball as the players themselves, even if he is simply the light guiding fans through the long season.

For the first time in franchise history, the Magic will carry on without this indelible voice.

Steele and the Magic announced his retirement after 37 years with the team. Dante Marchitelli, who filled in for David Steele on most road trips the last two seasons, will take over full-time play-by-play duties.

"I can't thank the DeVos family and the Orlando Magic organization enough for what they have provided to me and my family," Steele said in a team press release. "When I interviewed with Pat Williams back in 1988, I never dreamed it would play out this way. Now it is time for me to put the microphone down and spend time with my family. It’s been an honor to represent the Orlando Magic and I am forever grateful."

Those are big shoes to fill, even if Marchitelli has been learning to fill them for several years now.

Steele was as much a part of Magic fandom as the team itself in many ways. And he was an indelible voice for the franchise.

An indelible voice

There are a lot of moments that define David Steele, the longtime Orlando Magic broadcaster.

In actuality, there are so many Steele moments that define Magic basketball in all of the fans' minds. He gave voice to all of the best moments in franchise history, starting as a radio broadcaster in the team's first season and moving into the television booth for the last 28 years.

There are only a few Magic moments of gravity or history that do not have Steele's voice attached to them. His most famous call is one that lives with Magic fans forever:

"Anderson is there with him. . . Anderson, trying to steal it. Jordan dribbles around him. Clock is down to 12. And Anderson stole the ball! Hardaway picks it up. 2-on-1. Penny bounce pass to Grant. He dunks it! 6.2 seconds to go!"

The call from Game 1 of the 1995 second round series against the Chicago Bulls was reserved only for the radio broadcast with NBC taking over television. Steele was still the radio play-by-play at the time. But it is the most resounding and famous broadcast call in the team's history.

It was a defining moment for the team and a defining voice to punctuate its importance. "Nick Anderson stole the ball" is perhaps the defining moment of that playoff run and perhaps the greatest moment in Magic history.

That came from Steele.

Steele was an indelible part of the Magic experience. Even in their worst years on the court, the Magic's broadcast was considered one of the best in the league because of the way Steele presented games. He brought a gravity to the games, but kept things lighthearted and never ventured too deep into homerism.

It was clearly a local broadcast, but it also did not talk down the opponents. Steele always called the games as he saw them.

The advent of "Is This Anything?" in the last several years gave the broadcast a quirky recurring segment. It was something that showcased Steele's curiosity and preparation. It was a deep dive into both stats interesting and arcane. But it gave the broadcast personality -- especially when what was happening on the court could be tough to watch.

Steele was someone you could turn to for a good story, no matter what the result was in the game.

That is the highest compliment to you can give a broadcaster.

Steele was a true representative for the fans

David Steele's impressions go beyond his broadcast, though. Ask any fan who encountered him at games -- home or road -- and they would tell the story of someone who was truly kind with his time and eager to make any Magic fan feel at home.

He hated attention. When the Magic inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2019, it was something deeply uncomfortable for the consummate professional. A broadcaster is supposed to stay out of the way and let the pictures do the talking.

That is what Steele was always best at. He was the soundtrack, never overpowering the action on the court.

That is what Steele was for every Magic fans. He was the soundtrack to the games. His voice is imprinted on everyone and became synonymous with Magic basketball.

Those are impossible shoes to fill. And an impossible voice to replace.

There will be new moments and a new voice painting that picture. Magic fans will welcome someone new (but familiar) into their homes to tell the Magic's story.

But undoubtedly, that story was made better because Steele gave voice to it.

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