2004-05 Season
2004-05: A New Era
The Orlando Magic welcomed a new era of basketball beginning in the 2004-05 season, as a new-look team took the court after a big off-season reshaped the squad. This season would be a clear indication of the team's desire to avoid another disasterous 21-61 season like Orlando experienced in 2003-04.
The Magic began the campaign by selecting their third No. 1 pick in franchise history, 2004 Naismith Award Winner Dwight Howard from Atlanta, Ga., and rounded out possibly their finest draft in team history by also acquiring St. Joseph’s Jameer Nelson from the Denver Nuggets in a draft-night trade.
The squad got an even bigger overhaul with the June 29, 2004 multi-player trade that sent All-Star and league scoring leader Tracy McGrady, among others, to Houston for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.
Orlando felt the effects of their solid draft and free agency/trade pick-ups, which also included Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie, as the team jumped out to a quick 13-7 start in their first 20 games, and they continued to ride the backs of Francis and the rebounding machine of Howard to a 28-24 record at the All-Star break.
But change came in the second half of the season, as Mobley was soon shipped to Sacramento for Doug Christie, and, only three wins and one month later, Chris Jent was named the interim head coach of the Magic on March 17, 2005. Injuries to Turkoglu, Pat Garrity and Grant Hill plagued the team’s last 18 games, and Orlando finished the year at 36-46.
Despite the disappointing finish to the season, the Magic had a lot of highlights to counteract the tough times. Hill was deemed the NBA’s feel-good story of the year after coming back from five surgeries to average 19.7 ppg and earn the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award and a starting slot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
Howard also proved to be a wise decision with the top pick in the draft, as he finished his rookie campaign as one of only eight players in the NBA to average a double-double (12.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg.), while also earning a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. With Nelson emerging with a strong second half of the season to join Howard on the All-Rookie Second Team, the Magic will be highly anticipating the 2005-06 season with the return of their young core and a healthy Hill leading the way.
The Orlando Magic welcomed a new era of basketball beginning in the 2004-05 season, as a new-look team took the court after a big off-season reshaped the squad. This season would be a clear indication of the team's desire to avoid another disasterous 21-61 season like Orlando experienced in 2003-04.
The Magic began the campaign by selecting their third No. 1 pick in franchise history, 2004 Naismith Award Winner Dwight Howard from Atlanta, Ga., and rounded out possibly their finest draft in team history by also acquiring St. Joseph’s Jameer Nelson from the Denver Nuggets in a draft-night trade.
The squad got an even bigger overhaul with the June 29, 2004 multi-player trade that sent All-Star and league scoring leader Tracy McGrady, among others, to Houston for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.
Orlando felt the effects of their solid draft and free agency/trade pick-ups, which also included Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie, as the team jumped out to a quick 13-7 start in their first 20 games, and they continued to ride the backs of Francis and the rebounding machine of Howard to a 28-24 record at the All-Star break.
But change came in the second half of the season, as Mobley was soon shipped to Sacramento for Doug Christie, and, only three wins and one month later, Chris Jent was named the interim head coach of the Magic on March 17, 2005. Injuries to Turkoglu, Pat Garrity and Grant Hill plagued the team’s last 18 games, and Orlando finished the year at 36-46.
Despite the disappointing finish to the season, the Magic had a lot of highlights to counteract the tough times. Hill was deemed the NBA’s feel-good story of the year after coming back from five surgeries to average 19.7 ppg and earn the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award and a starting slot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
Howard also proved to be a wise decision with the top pick in the draft, as he finished his rookie campaign as one of only eight players in the NBA to average a double-double (12.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg.), while also earning a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. With Nelson emerging with a strong second half of the season to join Howard on the All-Rookie Second Team, the Magic will be highly anticipating the 2005-06 season with the return of their young core and a healthy Hill leading the way.
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