The 2007–08

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...

season was their 19th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

. Led by 22-year-old center

Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Tea ...

, the Magic finished the season with a 52–30 record, finishing first-place in the Southeast Division and advancing to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals where they were eliminated by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

in 5 games. The Magic had the fourth best team offensive rating in the NBA. In the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the Magic defeated the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

in the First round in five games before losing to the

in the Semi-finals in five games. This marked the first time since 1996 that the Magic made it to the Semi-finals of the playoffs. As from 1997 - 2007, they either were eliminated in the First round or didn't make the playoffs at all. The Magic have repeated this drought, and as of 2022, have not made it to the Semi-finals since 2010.

Key dates

*June 6: The Magic hire

Stan Van Gundy Stanley Alan Van Gundy (born August 26, 1959) is an American former basketball coach who is a National Basketball Association (NBA) game analyst for TNT. Prior to TNT, Van Gundy was most recently the head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of th ...

as head coach, days after

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He has served as head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since September 2020 after previously coa ...

was signed as head coach and released due to a change of heart from Donovan. *June 28: The 2007 NBA draft took place in New York City. *July 1: The

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

period began. *July 11: The Magic acquired

Rashard Lewis Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Lewis entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a scorer with the Seattle SuperSonics, and was later ...

from the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

. *September 29: The Magic opened their training camp at the RDV Sportsplex in

Maitland, Florida Maitland is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States, part of the Greater Orlando area. The population was 19,543 at the 2020 census. The area's history is exhibited at the Maitland Historical Museum; the city also hosts the Mai ...

. *October 31: The Magic's season began with a game against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. *March 5: The Magic matched the same number of wins as the previous season by defeating the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. *March 12: The Magic were assured a winning season after defeating the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. *March 15: The Magic clinched a playoff berth with a win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

. *March 28: The Magic broke the franchise's previous record of road wins in a season by defeating the

, the Magic's 24th win of the season away from home. *March 31: Because of a loss by the

, the Magic clinched the Southeast Division title. *April 16: The Magic played their last game of the regular season. *April 28: The Magic won their first playoff series in 12 years by defeating the

4 games to 1. *May 13: The Magic were eliminated from the playoffs, losing to the

4 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.

Offseason

was signed as head coach of the Magic on June 1 agreeing to a 5-year, $27.5 million deal with the team., to replace recently fired Magic head coach Brian Hill. Donovan had previously led the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

to back to back

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

National Championships in 2006 and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. One day later however, Donovan had second thoughts about becoming head coach of the Magic, and wished to be released from his contract to return to his former team, the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

Men's basketball team. On June 5, the Magic released Donovan from his 5-year contract, under the condition that he would not be allowed to sign as head coach of another NBA team for five years. One day later, the Magic signed

as head coach. The deal was reportedly for 4 years, $16 million. The Magic made a splash in the

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

market by acquiring

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

on July 11. Lewis was re-signed to the

for a six-year league maximum contract, then promptly traded to the Magic in a "

sign and trade In the National Basketball Association (NBA), a sign-and-trade deal is a type of transaction allowed by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) where one franchise/team signs an unrestricted free agent or restricted free agent player to a new co ...

" for a second-round pick in the 2008 NBA draft. The Sonics earned a mid-level salary cap exemption in the trade.ESPN – Sonics, Magic complete sign-and-trade for Rashard Lewis – NBA
/ref> Lewis signed a six-year league-maximum contract believed to be worth over $110 million. Then the Magic filled in a need and went after a big man after losing Darko Miličić, and signed Center Adonal Foyle who played for the Golden State Warriors and leads the Warriors in most blocks in team history. The Magic also signed

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Marcin Gortat Marcin Janusz Gortat (; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish former professional basketball player. The , center is the son of boxer Janusz Gortat. He was drafted in the second round by the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA draft and played for the ...

on July 17. They had acquired his NBA rights from the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

following the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

. The Magic got final approval for a new arena on July 26, 2007. It is expected to be completed in time for the 2010–11 NBA season. Point guard

Jameer Nelson Jameer Lamar Nelson Sr. (born February 9, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as assistant general manager for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Ha ...

's father, Floyd "Pete" Nelson, disappeared on August 30, and was found dead in the Delaware River in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, on September 2. A

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester ...

, tugboat repairman by trade, the elder Nelson's death was ruled an accident.

Draft picks

Orlando's selections from the 2007 NBA draft in New York City.

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

October

Record: 1–0 ; Home: 1–0 ; Road: 0–0

November

Record: 13–4 ; Home: 4–2 ; Road: 9–2

December

Record: 8–7 ; Home: 2–4 ; Road: 6–3

January

Record: 7–7 ; Home: 5–2 ; Road: 2–5

February

Record: 8–5 ; Home: 4–3 ; Road: 4–2

March

Record: 10–4 ; Home: 7–3 ; Road: 3–1

April

Record: 5–3; Home: 2–2; Road: 3–1 *Green background indicates win. *Red background indicates loss.

Playoffs

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The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Sho ...

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Howard