2009–10 Orlando Magic season
The 2009–10 Orlando Magic season was the 21st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Magic were coming off of an NBA Finals defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. The season was significant as it signaled the conclusion of the Magic's tenure at the Amway Arena as their designated home venuea. The Magic would replicate their previous season's performance and boasted the NBA's fourth highest offensive rating among all teams.
| 2009–10 Orlando Magic season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Stan Van Gundy |
| General manager | Otis Smith |
| President | Bob Vander Weide |
| Owner(s) | Richard DeVos |
| Arena | Amway Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 59–23 (.720) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Southeast) Conference: 2nd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Eastern Conference Finals (lost to Celtics 2–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Fox Sports Florida, Sun Sports |
| Radio | WDBO |
During the 2009 off-season, the Magic relinquished Hedo Türkoğlu and traded away Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, and Courtney Lee to acquire 8-time NBA All-Star and 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets. The inclusion of Carter, in conjunction with the emergence of rising star Dwight Howard not only provided the Magic with a seasoned NBA superstar to complement Howard's abilities and augment team synergy, but the concomitant indispensability of Carter's experienced skillset also helped grace the team with a veteran presence. By enlisting Carter's services in assisting Howard's performance with a skilled perimeter scorer who was capable of creating his own shot, Carter's assistive reinforcements compensated for a deficiency that had been present within the Magic's overall gameplay and team dynamics when they were defeated in the 2009 NBA Finals at the hands of the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.
During the playoffs, the Magic swept the Charlotte Bobcats in four games in the First Round and swept the Atlanta Hawks in four games in the semi-finals. In the conference finals, it was anticipated for the Magic to prevail as they faced the team they had previously defeated in last season's Conference semifinals after a grueling seven-game series, before losing to the Boston Celtics in six games. The Celtics would go on to lose to the Lakers in the Finals in seven games in a rematch from 2008 in which the Celtics won in six games. As of 2023, this is the last season the Magic won a playoff series.