Home sweet home.
That, in a nutshell, was the feeling inside the Silver Spurs Arena on Thursday night.
Even though this was the first time they played inside Kissimmee’s 8,000-seat, nearly 34,000 square foot multi-purpose arena since relocating from Lakeland, the Osceola Magic felt right at home in their new digs.
“It’s great to finally be playing a game here,” Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins said. “This has been a long road to get here, all summer long. The county and the fans have been phenomenal. They’ve been welcoming us this whole time. They’ve been very accommodating. I think the entire community is really excited about the team being here.”
The rousing support from the community has been palpable since the Magic announced the move of their G League team back in April. All that excitement and fervor from the fans was on display in the home opener, which ended with Osceola defeating the Texas Legends 136-129.
Mac McClung led six Osceola players in double figures in scoring with 35 points, while Brandon Williams scored 28 and Trevelin Queen had 21 points.
“Really good to play at home and have a great crowd,” Osceola head coach Dylan Murphy said. “We felt that in Mexico City and Austin. Those crowds gave their team energy, and when we needed it, our crowd gave us energy. So, it was awesome.”
Osceola County residents having a pro hoops team to cheer for and rally around is one of the many perks of this new Magic chapter.
Another is added convenience for developing and rehabbing players to commute back and forth when necessary. The drive from downtown Orlando, where both the Amway Center and AdventHealth Training Center are located, to and from the Silver Spurs Arena is right around 30 minutes.
In the past, several Orlando players have used the G League to get more playing time and/or work their way back from an injury. Chuma Okeke, for instance, spent his entire first year in the NBA in Lakeland after tearing his ACL in his left knee during the 2019 NCAA Tournament while playing for Auburn. Jonathan Isaac has had a couple stints in the G League, including last season when he played in several games for Lakeland in his first action since tearing his ACL in his left knee in August 2020 in the Disney bubble.
The G League team being even closer will make it very easy for two-way contract players to shift from one team to the other. The three with that designation this season are Admiral Schofield, Kevon Harris and Queen.
Queen was fueled by the crowd’s energy and enthusiasm in Thursday’s home opener. This being the third G League team he’s playing for – with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Fort Wayne Mad Ants being the other two – the 6-foot-6, 190-pound sharpshooter out of New Mexico State is confident this is a great environment for him to continue developing his skills, make lifelong connections, and be closer to his family.
“It’s an amazing blessing,” said the 26-year-old, who in 2022 was named the G League MVP and G League Finals MVP after leading Rio Grande Valley to the championship. “I’m in Orlando. I bought a house in Tampa a few months ago, so my family is just an hour drive (away). So, it’s a just a blessing to play in front of my family whenever I want rather than Indiana or RGV. It’s a blessing, honestly. The only person I have to thank for this is God. It’s definitely an honor.”
The last year-plus has featured a bunch of new beginnings for the Magic organization. In August 2022, the state-of-the-art AdventHealth Training Center opened. Its NBA 2K League team, Magic Gaming, moved their headquarters to leAD Lake Nona, a 16,000-square-foot Pixon MS2 innovation space in the heart of Lake Nona Town Center, shortly after. Now, its G League team is settled in and thriving in their new home.
“Everybody’s settled in to some really great space that is going to benefit them for the long term, for the operations of their teams,” Martins said. “It’s exciting for the organization overall that we’ve got everybody in close proximity to each other.”
From a basketball standpoint, the Osceola Magic are optimistic about this season. Under Murphy, who was also Orlando’s summer league coach in Las Vegas this past July, their plan is to use the core principles of the parent club as a foundation to build success.
Aside from the two-way contract players, Osceola has several notable young players on its roster, including McClung, the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk champion, D.J. Wilson, who was the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and Williams, who erupted for 38 points in the team’s previous outing against the Austin Spurs.
“With so much talent on one team, you have to find a way to sacrifice a little bit – each player,” Queen said. “We are just trying to figure out what it is we need to bring the team at a high level and what it is we need to (pull) back a little bit for the betterment of the team. Right now, we are just trying to figure out how to mold all these pieces together. Right now, it's a learning process. It’s great to be around a great group of guys.”
Thursday’s game aired on Bally Sports Florida. All 24 Osceola Magic home games this season can be viewed live on the Bally Sports app, with select broadcasts on Bally Sports Florida.
