National Basketball Association

Who will be the Orlando Magic's next Basketball Hall of Fame inductee?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:07 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ricky Scricca/FanSided via Orlando Magic Daily

Jan 20, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins inducts Penny Hardaway into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame during the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With the recent news of Tracy McGrady‘s Hall of Fame eligibility and Anfernee Hardaway’s induction into the Magic Hall of Fame, we ask how Orlando Magic might fare getting into Springfield.

Aside from Shaquille O’Neal, the only players to wear an Orlando Magic uniform currently in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame are Dominique Wilkins and Patrick Ewing — not exactly Orlando franchise stalwarts.

That could soon change, though.

There is a small slate of active and recently retired players who have cases for induction into Springfield. Some of them spent more time in Orlando than others, and some have stronger cases than others. Ultimately, it is only a matter of time before the franchise sees more representation in the Hall.

Five weeks ago, former Magic superstar Tracy McGrady was nominated for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Ben Wallace, who played on the franchise’s famous 2000 Heart and Hustle squad, and Chris Webber, a former Magic draft pick, were also among the ranks.

Not long after, the organization inducted Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway into its own Hall of Fame, re-igniting conversation around his candidacy for Springfield.

With so many former franchise stars receiving high honors and approaching Hall eligibility, are five players that Magic fans could see inducted in the not-so-distant future.

Anfernee Hardaway

Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway’s Basketball Hall of Fame chances are not great – but his induction would not be unprecedented.

At his mid-90s peak, Hardaway was considered one of the best guards, if not players, in the entire NBA. His Magic teams, which also featured Orlando greats like Shaquille O’Neal, Nick Anderson and Horace Grant, regularly contended in a Chicago Bulls-dominated Eastern Conference.

Entering the league as a point guard, Hardaway helped revolutionize the position with his elite combination of court vision and scoring ability. Before the 90s, point guards were expected not to do much more than handle the ball and distribute, while scoring was mostly left to forwards and centers. Players like Dwyane Wade, Stephon Marbury, Russell Westbrook and James Harden took the template Hardaway helped develop and ran with it, eventually leading coaches to develop entire systems around their abilities.

He was a perennial All Star during his prime and even finished third in MVP voting in 1996. He became a basketball icon practically in the blink of an eye, but just as quickly, injuries forced him into a diminished role for the last eight seasons of his career.

magic

A Royal Pain 11hSacramento Kings: Looking at the Week Ahead January 30th Edition

More headlines around FanSided:

9h - Dallas Mavericks Set to Face Defending Champs 9h - Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers Takeaways: Bulls and Butler back 8h - Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards Keep Surging Against New Orleans Pelicans 8h - Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 114, Toronto Raptors 113 10h - Seth Curry, Dallas Mavericks Beat Spurs in San AntonioMore News at Orlando Magic Daily

Hardaway brought Orlando basketball into the limelight. His place in the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame is unquestionable. But the Basketball Hall of Fame is a different story.

Basketball-Reference gives him about a 28 percent chance of getting in. But that is a better mark than either Ralph Sampson or David Thompson had – both of whom had career arcs like Hardaway’s. Their peaks were high enough, their college careers impactful enough and their styles were influential enough that they were voted in anyways.

Sampson, in fact, was only the second player after Bill Walton to win three National Player of the Year Awards in college. Before injuries derailed his pro career, he was considered a generational talent and one of the best players in the game’s history. Because Basketball-Reference’s Hall of Fame probability algorithm does not include NCAA achievements, Sampson’s probability figure is skewed downward, so he really is not as much of an outlier as it might seem.

Sampson and Thompson had historically great amateur careers in addition to their limited but important professional impacts. Their Hall-of-Fame cases are absolutely legitimate. But of the three, Hardaway had by far the longest pro career. He has as many All-Star appearances, All-League placements, and MVP award shares as Thompson, and as many NBA Finals appearances as Sampson.

Although Sampson and Thompson had incredible college careers — rightfully earning their reputations as two of the best in NCAA history — Hardaway also had a strong college tenure and simply has a better NBA resumé than either.

Especially at his peak seasons, he grades very well in advanced statistics. In 1996, Hardaway produced the second-best win shares season of any 90s guard not named Michael Jordan.

They each brought something unique to the game. For Sampson, it was an unprecedented combination of height, length and touch in the frontcourt. For Thompson, it was his streetball-influenced flashiness and electric style that the NBA was sorely lacking in the 70s.

For Hardaway, it was scoring like hardly any point guards ever did before and giving hope and excitement to a franchise on the league’s periphery.

All three players had an undeniable impact on the game, despite unfortunate circumstances hampering and shortening their careers.

You can debate whether any of them deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but if you agree that Sampson and Thompson deserve to be in, it is hard to argue against Hardaway’s potential candidacy.

Grant Hill

Although he is not yet eligible, Grant Hill should be a Basketball Hall of Fame shoe-in. He might not make it on his first ballot, but it should not take more than a few years of eligibility for him to get inducted.

Despite injuries hampering Hill’s tenure with the Magic (and much of his career in general), he still managed to carve out an extremely long and successful career spanning nearly 20 years.

It is important to remember that this is not the NBA Hall of Fame, it is the Basketball Hall of Fame. Achievements at all levels of the sport deserve consideration, and Grant Hill’s years at Duke were nothing short of legendary.

His teams in 1991 and 1992 were the first to win consecutive National Championships in Division I since UCLA did in 1973. Along the way, he also picked up two All-American placements, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and an ACC player of the year award, eventually leading Duke to retire his No. 33 — just the eighth retired number in the program’s history.

His best pro years came at the beginning with the Detroit Pistons, where he earned a Rookie of the Year award and five All-Star appearances. During his prime, Hill was one of the most lethal and well-rounded offensive players the league had ever seen, earning himself six All-NBA berths and six MVP award shares.

While Magic fans never got to see the Grant Hill they hoped for when he first arrived — he played fewer than 50 games in his first four seasons combined — he managed to continue his career despite horrible injuries and became a valuable role player for a series of successful Phoenix Suns teams.

blue devils basketball

Devils in Detail 1 dASU Football: Billy Napier Hired as Offensive Coordinator

More headlines around FanSided:

1 d - Ohio State Football: One WR Out But Urban Eyes Another 1 d - BYU football coach Kalani Sitake addresses Marriott Center crowd 1 d - Oregon Ducks Can't Shake Colorado, Drop 7th Straight in Boulder 1 d - Colorado Basketball: Buffs end losing streak, beat Beavers for first conference win 1 d - 2017 Arkansas Razorback Football Recruiting TrackerMore News at

Not many players in the game’s history have come back from, or even experienced injuries at the life-threatening magnitude of what Hill endured. Fewer, if any at all, have been able to come back and play for as long as he did, let alone crank out an All-Star appearance.

While many point to how impressive his 1996 campaign was (20 points per game, 10 rebounds per game and seven assists per game), his final seasons deserve equal repute. Despite everything he went through, he became a 40 percent 3-point shooter (a massive leap from the 26 percent mark he posted in his Pistons years) and managed to average double-digit scoring until he was 40.

Many wonder about how good he could have been. But, in reality, we do not need to wonder at all about how remarkable his career was.

Hill’s impact on the game as an unprecedented, all-around offensive dynamo is indisputable. His perseverance and toughness were superhuman. Although to many Magic fans he is synonymous with disappointment, Grant Hill’s full body of work is Hall of Fame caliber.

Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady is approaching his first chance at Hall of Fame induction this year.

A seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA player, a Most Improved Player award winner, McGrady was one of the best scorers of the 2000s. In four seasons with the Magic, he averaged 28.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per game, earning significant MVP shares almost every season and for a few of his Houston Rockets years after.

He is also one of only eight modern players to post a season (2003) with a Player Efficiency Rating better than 30. His 2003 campaign ranks among the best in NBA history – only 21 other players in the shot clock era have posted as many win shares, and they are all either in the Hall of Fame or on track to be. Basketball-Reference gives him a 96 percent chance of induction.

Basketball-Reference gives him a 96 percent chance of induction.

rockets

A Royal Pain 11hSacramento Kings: Looking at the Week Ahead January 30th Edition

More headlines around FanSided:

Although he never finished in the top three of MVP voting, McGrady was considered one of the best players in the game in his prime. He is one of only eight players to post a 30-plus points-per-game season after 2000. Not to mention, Kobe Bryant once claimed he was his most difficult opponent to face.

While Grant Hill’s injuries kept him sidelined most of his Magic career, McGrady surpassed even Orlando basketball fans’ wildest expectations, leading the team to three straight playoff berths and becoming a bona fide icon of the sport and the franchise.

Detractors point to the fact he never made it out of the Playoffs’ first round. There is merit to that criticism. And if anything keeps him out of the Hall, it will be that or his limited longevity.

If McGrady’’s surrounding circumstances had been different, he might have led a team to contention. If he had stayed with Vince Carter, if Grant Hill and Yao Ming had been healthier… you can talk hypotheticals all you want.

But it really should not matter. McGrady’s peak was higher than even that of most Hall of Famers.

He may or may not get in on his first ballot, but whatever happens – Tracy McGrady will always be an icon.

Jan 15, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) arrives at Toyota Center before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Dwight Howard

Although Dwight Howard’s image in Orlando is all but irreparable, he is still arguably the best player in the team’s history. When his time comes, he will be a Hall of Famer too.

If Howard retired today, Basketball-Reference gives him a 99.1 percent chance at induction – better than Steve Nash, Dominique Wilkins, George Gervin, and countless other first ballot shoe-ins. His eight All-Star games, fourteen All-NBA appearances, seven MVP award shares and his sheer volume of career points, blocks and rebounds make it an easy call.

Not to mention, Howard is the only player in the league’s history to win three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards.

His rebounding, defense and shot blocking alone would be enough to get him a serious shot at the Hall of Fame (See: Dikembe Mutombo). His prolific scoring just increases his chances at a first-ballot induction.

If Howard misses on his first ballot it will be because of his failure to win a championship.

He is currently signed to a three-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, who have their work cut out for them if they want to make a serious run in that timeframe. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors look set to dominate the Eastern Conference for the next few years, with other franchises like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers waiting in the wings.

At the moment, all signs point to the 31-year-old Howard’s championship window closing. But if he can continue to defend at a high level and post impressive rebounding numbers, it might not matter all that much.

The stark lack of rings on Dwight Howard’s fingers and his public image problems could very well keep him from a first ballot induction. But his numbers speak for themselves.

Vince Carter

Although he only spent a season and a half in Orlando, Vince Carter is an undisputed NBA icon.

If you watched basketball in the early and/or mid-2000s, I do not need to explain why.

Carter is arguably the greatest dunker in the history of the game – whether it is in the Slam Dunk Contest, in the regular season, or on the international stage, he gave NBA fans more unforgettable moments every year than most players do in their entire careers.

But his resume is not limited to earth-shattering slams.

Carter’s incredible longevity and his evolution from a superstar reliant on athleticism into a valuable role player on quality teams is worth merit on its own.

One of the league’s true ironmen, he is also currently fifth all-time in made 3-pointers, 24th all-time in points, 17th in total games played, and 22nd in total minutes.

Whenever he does decide to hang it up, a lack of significant postseason success will likely keep the eight-time All-Star from a first-ballot induction. That and the fact that he never finished better than 10th in MVP voting will not do him any favors.

Carter also does not grade as highly on advanced metrics like Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares as a typical first-ballot Hall of Famer might, either. But the eye test should throw that out the window.

Aside from how exciting he was to watch for NBA fans everywhere, his impact on the game outside of the US was also huge. In 2017, we are getting to witness an entire crop of players who grew up in Toronto watching Carter – Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph, Nik Stauskas and Kelly Olynyk all have cited him as an inspiration.

The league and the sport would look a lot different without Carter.

He probably does not quite have the resume for a first-ballot induction, but his longevity and incredible impact will get him in sooner than later.