Orlando Magic

As an expansion franchise in 1989, the Orlando Magic didn’t
have to wait long for success. Behind Shaquille O’Neal and
Penny Hardaway, Orlando reached the NBA Finals in 1995.
Unfortunately, they ran into a red-hot Houston, who won the
series 4-0 and the team would not return to the Finals for over
a decade.

Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill reinvigorated the Magic during
the early 2000s but the spell didn’t last. Hope returned in the
2004 draft with Dwight Howard, who got the Magic back to the
Finals in 2009 before bolting West to the Los Angeles Lakers,
where O’Neal had gone so many years before.

Farewell to the mediocre Magic

It might feel like the Orlando Magic traded away everything, but Sean Guest thinks that it couldn’t have come at a better time

James Harden Beard
Ranking potential James Harden trade destinations

Houston has a Harden problem. Tom Hall takes a look around the league and makes the case for teams that should move in for one of the league’s most polarising stars.

Images: Getty
Step Back Special: Step Back into Christmas

Ahead of this year’s festive showcase, Sean Guest looks back at some of the most memorable Christmas Day games

Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic and the Orlando Magic’s catch-22

The Orlando Magic have a turbulent history with centers. Now, Nikola Vucevic’s future presents the franchise with another difficult decision. Resident Magic fan, Sean Guest explains.

Half empty or half Fultz? – how avoiding the all-or-nothing approach is working for Markelle

In a league where the culture is all about winning or losing, Nick Whitfield assesses the slow but gradual rebuild of Markelle Fultz’s career, and why the patient, middle-ground has been the best route forward

Stuck in the middle – should the NBA’s mediocre teams go all in or tank?

Floating outside of contention while too good to tank is one of the toughest places to be in the NBA, so Tom Hall considers how some of those middle-of-the-pack teams should progress

2019-20 Orlando Magic Preview

The Orlando Magic surprised us all last season, finishing 7th in the Eastern Conference. Can they go a step further this year?

2009: Remembering a time when the Orlando Magic mattered

10 years ago to the day, the Orlando Magic made history in the NBA Finals. Now, just the memory remains, but Sean Guest is feeling nostalgic

Opening Weekend Feature photo –  Ron Turenne / Getty Images / USAToday / NBAE / Double Clutch illustration – Matthew Wellington
The Agony and the Ecstasy of the NBA Playoffs: Part 1

After upsets and revenge games galore, the opening three days of the NBA Playoffs has caused equal measures of Agony and Ecstasy – Double Clutch discuss who has experienced the most extremes so far