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Orlando Magic
Overall: 65
Title track: T90
Ownership: 79
Coaching: T52
Players: 78
Fan relations: 65
Affordability: 50
Stadium experience: 26
Bang for the buck: 75
Change from last year: +5
Oh, what a difference a half-decade makes. Way back in 2011, the Magic were perennial playoff-makers (six straight appearances in all, starting in the 2006-07 season), coached by Stan Van Gundy and ranked a lofty 16th overall in these very Ultimate Standings. Five years, four postseason-less campaigns and four head coaches later? They're mired in the muck of mediocrity, a disheartening 49 spots lower (No. 65 overall), with no top-50 rankings to their name, besides affordability and stadium experience. Where, oh where, has the magic gone?
What's good
The still-gleaming, still-shiny-new Amway Center, now in its seventh year, remains a fan favorite in Central Florida (25th in "having a great stadium," it's the top-ranked NBA arena). The tallest HD scoreboard in the league? Check. More than 1,100 digital monitors? Check check. A fun zone for kids AND one for adults? (For the over-21 set, it's called the One80 Grey Goose Lounge, complete with sweeping views of the city.) Check, check and ... well, you get the picture. Even if the on-court action isn't great, that scoreboard -- with its 4.4 trillion shades of color -- makes it look great.
What's bad
The Magic's aforementioned playoff drought -- four years and counting -- matches its longest dry spell since the franchise entered the NBA 27 years ago. Hope, in turn, has run dry. Witness: With the team tied for 90th in title track, you can color Orlando fans skeptical about their championship prospects. (The Magic share that rank with the Milwaukee Bucks, their not-so-lofty NBA colleagues who have toiled in mediocrity for the better part of two decades.) Just a wild guess? The rash of new faces -- only six players remain from last year's squad -- won't do much to mend already tenuous trust in the team's future prospects.
What's new
Behold, the revolving door of head coaches in central Florida: Stan Van Gundy begat Jacque Vaughn begat James Borrego begat Scott Skiles ... begat Frank Vogel. Vogel, Orlando's fifth head coach in nearly as many seasons, looks to have the locals' early buy-in, at least. He comes by way of Indiana, where, in his five full seasons at the helm, he steered the Pacers to four playoff berths. (His lone miss? The 2014-15 season, with Paul George lost for most of the year.) The Magic, in turn, jumped a healthy 33 spots in coaching since last year (their biggest leap in 2016) and climbed to a now-respectable No. 52.
Next: LA Clippers | Full rankings