COLUMN: Forget Shaq-Dwight Beef. This Magic Team Deserves Your Attention.

A couple of Orlando Magic franchise icons are back in the news for their public dislike of one another. Anyone choosing to focus on that rather than the current Magic team's accomplishments is missing one of the NBA's best stories.

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) celebrates with center Goga Bitadze (35) during the Magic's Jan. 3 win at Toronto. / Orlando Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. – Less than a year ago, on Feb. 13, 2024, Shaquille O'Neal's jersey number became the first retired by the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard, who is eligible this year for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, could one day have his No. 12 join Shaq's 32 in the Kia Center rafters.

In the franchise's 36 years, one could make the argument that the two giants are the Magic's greatest players of all time. They also seemingly want nothing to do with one another.

A decades-long beef between the two re-ignited on social media over the past couple of days. Howard appeared on a podcast and explained his efforts to reconcile their relationship, but then also pondered whether the two would need to "throw hands." That prompted O'Neal to respond, saying he "won't ever bring [Howard's] name up again," and the two had an exchange of replies to one another.

Which, to me, raises a couple questions: In 2025, why are we still doing this? And why should we care?

Full transparency: I'm 23 years old. There's plenty about the history of the Magic that I'm still eager to learn. But in reading about how this spat originated and how long it's carried on, that's enough, thanks.

Shaquille O'Neal during a post-game ceremony where the Orlando Magic retired his #32 jersey at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

What I've instead focused my energy on is this current Magic team, because what they're accomplishing right now is nothing short of remarkable.

They have played 38 games — 33 of them without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero and 13 without Franz Wagner, his frontcourt partner who was blossoming into an All-Star in his teammate's absence. A torn oblique is by no means a common basketball-related injury. Bizarrely, it struck the Magic's two best players.

Franz's brother Moe then tore his ACL after 30 games, ending a career year that was solidifying him as one of the NBA's best bench players. Even defensive star Jalen Suggs, who is as tough as they come and is no stranger to pushing through aches and pains, is currently out with a back issue.

Other Magic players have missed time, too. But somehow, Orlando keeps finding results.

Monday night in Madison Square Garden, the shorthanded Magic stunned a Knicks team they'd lost to three previous times for their 22nd win. That's a game better than the 21-17 mark they'd posted through 38 games of their breakthrough 2023-24 season, when those four aforementioned players were all available and led Orlando to an eventual 47-win season and the fifth seed in the East playoffs.

Back to this year and this band of magicians, they're fourth in the East — two games clear of the Milwaukee Bucks at the time of writing for the last grasp of home-court advantage. Orlando's usual supporting cast around its rising stars has become the feature act each night.

Despite their stars' absences, the Magic still have enough.

"We have enough. We are enough."@The_ColeAnthony on the W 🗣️ https://t.co/wBRvDXKmfM pic.twitter.com/Zp6WMT4mTZ

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) January 7, 2025

And now Banchero, who has missed more than two months, teased on Instagram Tuesday that his return could be coming soon. He even showed up fourth in the NBA's first returns of All-Star fan ballots, garnering more votes than Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, and the Philadelphia trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George or Tyrese Maxey.

Orlando's budding superstar belongs in the conversation with these household NBA names. Banchero was the Magic's No. 1 overall pick in 2022, like O'Neal in 1992 and Howard in 2004.

Since the "Dwightmare" in 2011, when Howard and Orlando divorced, the Magic hasn't had a player more important to their future than Banchero, who is 22.

That's not to diminish Franz or Suggs. The 23-year-olds were extended with big contracts last summer. Together, the Magic's trio projects to have one of the NBA's brightest futures.

Traditionally, small markets need stars to make noise in the national landscape. And while the Magic's best players are sidelined, the next men up are keeping the team intact — without complaint.

They score fewer points per game than every other NBA team, but they find a way to win games. While criticism of too much offense and homogenized playing styles dominate basketball discourse, the Magic engage in a 48-minute war every night. They're in your face on defense, willing to hustle and defend opponents into submission despite that league-low offense.

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley laughs with his assistant coaches during the fourth quarter of their game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Expecting wins every night is unrealistic, but you can count on their fight. They're no pushover, and sometimes — whether it's in a late-game comeback or with a wire-to-wire stunner — they knock off Goliath. Ask the champion Celtics or Knicks for testimonies.

All respect to Shaq and Dwight. They've done more than enough to create a legacy within the Magic franchise — no matter where their relationship with the team or fan base currently stands.

But their issues with one another are old and tired. The Magic's twentysomething strivers, not that 20-year-old feud, are deserving of NBA fans' attention.

Because right now, those players are enough, and they'll soon be more than that. The Magic are one of the league's best stories this year.

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

• PAOLO HINTS AT RETURN ON IG: The third-year pro suggested his 33-game injury absence could soon be coming to a close on social media Tuesday night. CLICK HERE
• WCJ 'GETTING [HIS] SWAG BACK': Wendell Carter Jr.'s role has fluctuated so far in his seventh NBA season, but he's "starting to get [his] swag back." CLICK HERE
• MAGIC-KNICKS RECAP: The injury-riddled Orlando Magic pulled off an upset victory in Madison Square Garden on Monday night. CLICK HERE
• FRANZ'S PATIENCE PIVOTAL AS HE PROVIDES INJURY UPDATE: A little over four weeks after Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner tore his right oblique, he told locker room reporters that his status is "a weird spot" to be in: feeling better but knowing he must be patient in his recovery process. CLICK HERE
• PAOLO, NOW 'HEALED,' GETTING CLOSER TO RETURN: After his torn right oblique has now fully healed, the Magic star is hoping to return back to the court with Orlando soon. CLICK HERE
• RESILIENT MAGIC SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE STARTS: The Orlando Magic acknowledge that their slow starts are digging holes that even spirited comebacks can't always overcome. Bucking that trend — a challenge, given their injury shortages — is the Magic's next step. CLICK HERE
• BANCHERO, FRANZ CRACK TOP 10 IN ALL-STAR VOTE RETURNS: The Orlando Magic's star frontcourt duo appeared in the top 10 of the first returns for NBA All-Star fan voting Thursday. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC'S 2024-25 SCHEDULE: See the complete slate for the Orlando Magic in 2024-25 and all the details – dates, locations, TV, tip times, and more – that you need to know. CLICK HERE

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