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Fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals your Orlando Magic embark on the NBA draft in what seems like a blink of an eye. Since we have no first round picks (nor 2nd rounders) we thought it would be fun to take a look back on the last 20 years of first rounders.
Since the Magic seemingly got one right with our last pick Courtney Lee we will grade each draft pick on the Courtney Lee Awesome Scale from 1-5. This grade reflects their overall impact on the franchise and quality of the pick.
 = Awful
= Serviceable
= Good Pick
= Great Pick
= Out of this World
1989: Nick Anderson (11th Overall, University of Illinois)
Past: Nick Anderson was probably the most popular player in Orlando Magic history. He was an original, a great scorer and did fantastic work in the community. He ushered the team into the Shaq and Penny era and was an intergral part in helping the Magic make their first NBA Finals appearance in 1995. Though we would miss 4 free throws to ice game 1 leading to a sweep at the hands of the Rockets most Magic fans remember him for the steal.
Present: Nick is currently the community ambassador for the Orlando Magic and was last seen waving a gigantic Magic flag before all home games.
Grade:
1990: Dennis Scott (Pick 4, Georgia Tech)
Past: Dennis was an absolute assassin with the 3 ball and was one of the greatest 3 point shooters in NBA history. At one point he held NBA records for most 3 pointers made in a single game and in one season. Like Nick Anderson he helped to usher in the Shaq and Penny era and was also integral in the team's first Finals appearance. Dennis took the one great skill he had and parlayed it into a 10 year NBA career; 7 of those with Orlando.
Present: Dennis is currently the radio analyst for his hometown Atlanta Hawks.
Grade:
1991: (10th Overall, Brian Williams aka Bison Dele, Arizona)
Past: Bison's career with the Magic was mostly a forgettable one as he really did nothing in his first couple seasons with Orlando. He was actually a journeyman and role player before joining the Pistons late in the 90's. Right when it looked like he could turn himself into an all-star player he decided to walk away from the game and alot of money.
Present: As everyone can remember Bison was supposedly murdered by his older brother on his sailboat in the Pacific Ocean.
Grade:
1991: Stanley Roberts (23rd overall, Louisiana State University)
Past: Stanley Roberts was a big waste of talent (pun intended). He suffered through alot of injuries and never made a serious attempt to get in shape. He would later be kicked out the league towards the end of his career for drug violations.
Present: The Las Vegas buffet circuit.
Grade:
1992: (Shaquille O'Neal, 1st Overall, Louisiana State University)
Past: Shaq was simply awesome in his time with Orlando. He was a dominant force on offense and was unlike any other big man we had ever seen. He led the team to their first ever NBA Finals and electrified the city of Orlando. Although Shaq was here in body he always had his mind in Los Angeles as we wanted to be in the Hollywood spotlight to be a rapper and actor as well as a dominant basketball player. Through a shady set of circumstances Shaq was able to move onto LA in the summer of 1996 and the rest is history. He would go on to lead the Lakers to three titles and would piggyback Dwayne Wade for another in Miami.
Present: Packing a moving van to Cleveland and tweeting about how awesome he is.
Grade:
1993: (Chris Webber, 1st Overall, Michigan)
Past: Chris would never suit up for the Magic because he was part of a draft night trade for Penny Hardaway. I will always wonder how such a skilled passing big man would have played with Shaq but we will never know the answer to this. Chris went on to a great career including the rookie of the year award and multiple all-star appearances. He was never thought of as a true number one guy and mostly defered in crunch time but the skill he possessed could not be denied.
Present: Chris is currently a analyst for TNT and NBATV where he and Gary Payton should have their own late night talk show.
Grade:
1993: (Geert Hammink, 26th Overall, Louisiana State University)
Past: If you played the Roberts/O'Neal/Hammink LSU trifecta your payout was tremendous. The Magic obviously did not reap the benefits as Geert only played in a handful of games in his NBA career and really did nothing of note.
Present: Waiting in the Netherlands for the Blue Chips 2 script to arrive.
Grade:
1994: (Brooks Thompson, 27th Overall, Oklahoma State University)
Past: Brooks Thompson was an incredible talent with a great feel for the game and amazing handles with the basketball. I actually just made that up as I remember nothing about him.
Present: Brooks is currently the head basketball coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio.
Grade:
1995: (David Vaughn III, 27th Overall, Memphis State)
Past: You see where this is going right. David also did nothing of note in the NBA. Maybe my brain has made me shatter these draft picks.
Present: Feeling the flow.
Grade:
1996: (Brian Evans, 27th Overall, Indiana)
Past: After polishing off an illustrious career at Indiana Brian Evans would join the Orlando Magic. That would be about it and quite frankly my brain is starting to hurt.
Present: Tilling the fields on the global plantation.
Grade:
1997: (Johnny Taylor, 17th Overall, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Past: Johnny was drafted at number 17, wore number 17 and played in 17 total games with the Orlando Magic. Some would say that 3 is a Magic number but Mr. Taylor would laugh in your face.
Present: Making it rain in Europe.
Grade:
1998: (Michael Doleac, 12th Overall, Utah)
Past: Micheal was a servicable big man who played for the Magic for 3 seasons and left it all out on the floor everynight. His overall career lasted 11 seasons and he even won a title with the refs Heat in 2006.
Present: According to our wonderful friends at Wikipedia Micheal would like to be a doctor.
Grade:
1998: (Keon Clark, 13th Overall, University of Nevada-Las Vegas)
Past: Keon was traded to the Nuggets for their 2000 first round pick. He was a tremendous athlete who dabbled in a little marijuana during his time in the NBA leading to several questionable decisions and an up and down career.
Present: Federal Pound Me in The Ass Prison
Grade:
1998: (Matt Harpring, 15th Overall, Georgia Tech)
Past: Matt only really played for one year in Orlando but that was season was a memorable one as he would be named to the all-rookie first team. He would injure himself in year 2 and later be traded out of Orlando.
Present: Playing for the Utah Jazz
Grade:
2000: (Mike Miller, 5th Overall, University of Florida)
Past: Mike Miller was actually a really good draft pick by the Orlando Magic and would go onto win the Rookie of the Year award. He had a silky smooth jumpshot and a smile as wide as the fields of South Dakota. He got a little better every season in Orlando until he was abruptly traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Drew Gooden and Gordan Giricek in his 3rd year with the team.
Present: Mike was traded earlier this week to the Washington Wizards.
Grade:
2000: (Keyon Dooling, 10th Overall, Missouri)
Past: Keyon was traded on draft night to the Clippers of Los Angeles. He would kind of flounder in his early career before latching on with Miami for a season and then playing for 3 years with Orlando prior to this season. He backed up both guard spots and was a great spark off the bench on both ends of the floor.
Present: Currently plays for the New Jersey Nets.
Grade:
2000: (Courtney Alexander, 13th Overall, Fresno State University)
Past: Courtney never suited up for the Magic as he was traded immediately to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night.
Present: Not really sure and I am running out of jokes.
Grade:
2001: (Steven Hunter, 15th Overall, DePaul)
Past: Steven was a pillowy soft center whose only real asset was that he was tall. Even that seemed to fail him at times as he was never able to get consistent playing time with the Magic or do anything of real substance.
Present: Currently with the Denver Nuggets.
Grade:
2001: (Jeryl Sasser, 21st Overall, Southern Methodist University)
Past: Jeryl Sasser was a horrendous basketball player and to this day myself nor any other Magic fans do not have the comprehension to understand why he was drafted. No one had heard of him and he did not exactly set the world on fire in college. I think for some reason he reminded the team of Tracy McGrady and they thought they would have depth at the 2 guard position. Unfortunately management could not be anymore wrong. He was out of the league in 3 years.
Present: I cannot speculate as to what Jeryl is up to these days but I hope on every draft night he at least sends John Gabriel a fruit basket. It makes a lovely gift.
Grade:
2002: (Curtis Borchardt, 18th Overall, Stanford University)
Past: Curtis was traded to the Utah Jazz on draft night in exchange for Ryan Humphrey. Curtis battled injuries for most of his career and was never able to establish himself in the league.
Present: Currently playing for CB Granada in Spain.
Grade:
2003: (Reece Gaines, 16th Overall, Louisville)
Past: Reece was going to be the tall point guard that Doc Rivers coveted and somehow he convinced management to draft him. The only problem was on the very FIRST day of training camp Doc Rivers decided he was not a point guard so he had to take his seat on the bench behind Tracy and Jeryl. Reece was later traded in the T-Mac deal and thankfully ended what could have very well have been the worst 3 year run in the history of draft picks.
Present: Playing for Angelico Biella in Italy.
Grade:
2004: (Dwight Howard, 1st Overall, Southwest Christian Academy)
Past: Thank you Pat Wiliams you beautiful SOB. Once again the lottery was kind to the Magic as they would get to draft Dwight Howard. Though many at the time wondered about the pick with Kwame Brown still on their minds I think there is no doubt the Magic nailed this pick. Dwight just led to the team to the NBA Finals including an amazing performance in closing out Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. He has been the leading all-star vote getter, DPOY, Dunk Contest Champion, 1st Team All-NBA and the accolades go on and on. I really could write about Dwight for hours but we will just move on.
Present: Getting ready for the off-season and probably tweeting.
Grade:
2005: (Fran Vasquez, 11th Overall, Spain)
Past: Fran fleeced the Magic on draft night convincing Brian Hill among others that he was ready to come over to the NBA. Instead of taking Danny Granger (15 minute break to sob) the Magic got this guy. All he was really trying to do was negotiate a bigger contract in Spain and we took the bait. There are myths and rumors that one day he will come over to the NBA but I highly doubt it. Probably the Magic's worst first round draft pick ever and that says alot.
Present: Playing for FC Barcelona of the ACB.
Grade:
2006: (J.J. Redick, 13th Overall, Duke)
Past: JJ was one of the most decorated shooters in the history of college basketball but many wondered about his transition to the NBA. He was drafted as the shooter that was going to space the floor for Dwight. He saw very little playing time his first couple of seasons and asked to be traded multiple times. He finally started to get consistent playing time this season and his overall game got better. Overall JJ has a very high basketball IQ and can be continue to be a benefit to the team moving forward.
Present: Getting ready for the offseason and maybe writing a little poetry.
Grade:
2007: No Pick
2008: (Courtney Lee, 22nd Overall, Western Kentucky University)
Past: Courtney was probably the first mid-round first rounder the Magic have ever gotten right as his game continued to blossom throughout the season. With injuries to start Mikael Pietrus through the season Courtney was able to take the starting shooting guard position and put a stranglehold on it. He defended the best 2 guards in the league like Kobe and Wade and even took turns at defending Lebron James at times. After a meltdown in Game 1 of the First Round against Philadelphia Courtney had his finest game as a pro pouring in 24 points and would set the tone in turning the series around. Unfortunately Courtney would suffer a fractured sinus at the hands of Dwight Howard in Game 5 and would miss the remainder of the series. He came back in the Boston series and was able to basically shut down Eddie House in Games 3-7 as he went absolutely bonkers in Game 2. Courtney seemed a little reluctant at times as the playoffs would wind down but you would see glimpses of what the future holds with his toughness and quickness.
Present: Getting ready for the off-season and probably gracing more locals with lunch dates.
Grade:
Well that puts a wrap on the first round history of the Orlando Magic. I know we had some clear misses in the middle rounds but you cannot deny the greatness that was Shaq and the fact that Dwight was such a massive homerun. So overall....
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