Orlando Magic

* Contact Kyle Wright * Buy The NBA From Top to Bottom * NBA Links

Team of Note

1999-2000 Orlando Magic
Record: 41-41
Overall ranking: 519th, 0.494 points above average
    See if you can keep this straight:
    Team is expected to fail in the present, but to succeed in the future. Team somehow achieves reasonable success in the present. Team’s coach and general manager receive accolades, based on reasonable success in present and expected success in future. Team then fails to achieve expected future success, making some long for the team that was expected to fail.
    That, in a nutshell, tells the bizarre story of the 1999-2000 Orlando Magic.
    The Magic brain trust assembled its 1999-2000 roster with a collection of relative unknowns. Orlando expected to struggle during the 1999-2000 season. The franchise also expected to upgrade the talent base after the season with the space created under the team’s salary cap.
    The Magic nonetheless stayed competitive throughout the 1999-2000 campaign. Guard Darrell Armstrong led Orlando to a 41-41 record. The Magic missed out on a playoff spot by just one game. First-year coach Doc Rivers received the league’s Coach of the Year award for getting the most out of his collection of no-names. Orlando general manager John Gabriel won the league’s Executive of the Year honor for maintaining a competitive roster while building for the future.
    As expected, the Magic made a big splash in the free agent market following the 1999-2000 season. Orlando signed up-and-coming shooting guard Tracy McGrady away from the Toronto Raptors. The Magic also pried versatile forward Grant Hill away from the Detroit Pistons in a sign-and-trade deal. Orlando gave Detroit a one-dimensional forward named Ben Wallace in the transaction.
    The much-ballyhooed plan never panned out. Hill spent most of his time in central Florida battling injuries. McGrady emerged as a superstar, but couldn’t get the Magic past the first round of the playoffs.
    (That one-dimensional forward named Wallace would go on to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards).
    The grand plan collapsed completely during the 2003-2004 season.
    Orlando won its season opener, but then lost its next 19 games. Rivers and Gabriel both lost their jobs by the end of the campaign. McGrady demanded and received a trade after the season. The one-dimensional forward named Wallace led the Pistons to the NBA title. Orlando finished with a 21-61 record, worst in the NBA and 20 games worse than the 1999-2000 Magic team that was expected to fail miserably.
    Got that straight?

Orlando Magic From Top to Bottom

All-time RankingW-LPlayoffs
701994-95Orlando Magic57-25NBA finalist
1201995-96Orlando Magic60-22East finals
2161993-94Orlando Magic50-32East first round
2971998-99Orlando Magic33-17East first round
4522001-02Orlando Magic44-38East first round
4531992-93Orlando Magic41-41
5422000-01Orlando Magic43-39East first round
5431999-00Orlando Magic41-41
5492006-07Orlando Magic40-42East first round
6131996-97Orlando Magic45-37East first round
6222002-03Orlando Magic42-40East first round
6631997-98Orlando Magic41-41
7222005-06Orlando Magic36-46
8392004-05Orlando Magic36-46
9401990-91Orlando Magic31-51
10721991-92Orlando Magic21-61
10872003-04Orlando Magic21-61
11241989-90Orlando Magic18-64