The Magic Insider

How Magic Players Gave Back to the Community this Thanksgiving Holiday

The Orlando Magic held various community events this week in an effort to give back to the community of Central Florida during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Mason Williams

The Orlando Magic held its 32nd annual Thanksgiving celebration breakfast at the Coalition of the Homeless of Central Florida on Thursday morning.
The Orlando Magic held its 32nd annual Thanksgiving celebration breakfast at the Coalition of the Homeless of Central Florida on Thursday morning. / Mason Williams, Orlando Magic on S
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Spend any time around this Orlando Magic team and a theme will quickly emerge: this is more than a basketball team. This group, this organization, from top to bottom, sees itself as a family. They operate like one, too. Perhaps the holiday season is the greatest depictor of that.

Since arriving back in Orlando during the early hours of Tuesday morning, many members of the team have been involved in the Central Florida community, hosting several events to give back centered around celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday.

That desire to help assist those in the community surrounding the Magic is embedded into the entire roster's personality. The city of Orlando has poured into them and given the franchise its full backing, so the way they see it, it's only right to pour back into the community that fuels them all year long.

With that in mind, here's a look at how the Magic got involved in the community this Thanksgiving:

Wagner Family Thanksgiving Assist

Orlando Magic players and brothers Franz and Moe Wagner, as well as head coach Jamahl Mosley
Orlando Magic players and brothers Franz and Moe Wagner, as well as head coach Jamahl Mosley, distributed turkeys to 50 families from the Foundation for Foster Children. / Mason Williams, Orlando Magic on SI

Tuesday afternoon, brothers Franz and Moe Wagner got together in Winter Park to distribute all the makings of a Thanksgiving meal to 50 families from the Foundation for Foster Children.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and his family joined in the event, as well as assistant coaches Bret Brielmaier and Jesse Mermuys, plus several other Magic employees and volunteers assisted the Wagners in distributing turkeys and bags of traditional Thanksgiving sides to the families. Moe and Franz spent over an hour taking pictures and signing autographs for attendees as well.

There wasn't loud music blasting or any other distracting elements. Rather, it was a happy, joyous evening that took on the personality of the two brothers hosting it.

"It's a really special opportunity," Franz said. "Obviously we're from a different country, but we've been here [in America]. We want to give back to the community that supports us so much. It's a small thing for us but I think it makes a huge difference for them."

Added Moe: "We've received so much love in the last couple years, we want to be a little bit more proactive and engaged in the community. This is a great opportunity for us, and it does just as much for us as it does for the kids."

Throughout the rigors of an NBA schedule, player spend most of their time in packed arenas playing a game for a living. Exceptions given due to social media for some, access to them is usually barred for the everyday person. For them to take time out of complex schedules and tap more into the human side of their career offers not only a reprieve from the day-to-day but a different way of seeing things.

It's still maybe a shock to see two near-on 7-footers in a room with low ceilings taking pictures with people who only come up to, at most, their mid-torso. What isn't shocking, however, is the attitude they carry in serving and interacting with their community.

"It kind of puts things in perspective, you know?" Moe continued. "Basketball is so irrelevant compared to other things in life, and there's such a human side to things. Being able to embrace that and enjoy that to a certain amount is super valuable for us, and we want to lean into that."

Block Out Hunger Thanksgiving Celebration

The logo for the Magic's Block Out Hunger Thanksgiving Celebration Turkey Dinner Distribution event.
Magic players Cole Anthony and Wendell Carter Jr. teamed up to host the Block Out Hunger Thanksgiving Celebration Turkey Dinner Distribution event Tuesday evening. / Mason Williams, Orlando Magic on SI

Later that evening, the Magic, Florida Blue, and Cole Anthony and Wendell Carter Jr., along with their respective foundations – Anthony's 50 Ways Foundation and Carter's Platform² Foundation – teamed up to host the Block Out Hunger Thanksgiving Celebration Turkey Dinner Distribution event.

On a first-come, first-served basis, the public was invited to Rosemont Neighborhood Center, where the event took over the property's gymnasium. A live DJ and several interactive stations and games entertained as Anthony, Carter, the Magic and Florida Blue helped distribute a total of 400 Thanksgiving meals to underserved families in the Central Florida area.

Those in attendance also went home with boxes of perishable and non-perishable food items in addition to the Thanksgiving meals, which included turkeys and many traditional trimmings – green beans, gravy, corn, potatoes, dinner rolls and pies.

Besides Anthony and Carter, Mosley and his family were again in attendance, as well as Magic community ambassador Bo Outlaw, assistant coach Dale Osbourne and team staff members.

Anthony and Carter each expressed how they had long desired to host an event like this together.

Both have won the Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award during their time with the team, which goes to the Magic player who serves the community in an above-and-beyond measure over a year. Anthony was the NBA's winner of the Bob Lanier Community Assist award winner in October.

"When me and my great brother Wendell had the opportunity to come together and make something amazing like this happen, we said we had to do it," Anthony said. "It was only a matter of time. We got Mose in the building, I see my boy Oz (Dale Osbourne), and we're just doing what we can for the people.

"To see so many kids in here, so many families in here coming and taking the stuff that we're actually bringing, it's really cool to see."

Said Carter: "It's always important. Around this team is when everybody thinks of family, this time and then Christmas coming up next month, that's kind of what it's all about. [We try] to find ways throughout our busy schedule to give back to the community, to Orlando, such a beautiful city to be in. For me and [Cole] to be together, I feel like it was much necessary for the community.

"The organization as a whole values the community and giving back, from when I first got here to when I had meetings with the front office, what they talked about what they've done for the community so far, what they plan on doing for the future... It just shows as a unit, we all care about the same thing, and that's very rare to find in this league. I've only played for one other team, but it's kind of like night and day."

Jonathan Isaac's Thanksgiving Meal Distribution

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac distributing meals.
Magic forward Jonathan Isaac joined forces with Project Life to distribute Thanksgiving meals and serve food to the community on Wednesday afternoon. / Orlando Magic

Between the team's shootaround and game with the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night in Orlando, Isaac took time in the middle of the afternoon to distribute meals outside of J.U.M.P. Ministries Global Church. Isaac sponsored the event, partnering with Project Life to serve food to the community and give out Thanksgiving meals.

"I think it's amazing. It's exactly when people need it," Isaac said in a piece published to the Magic's website. "To be able to be a part of taking care of the community, doing it right here where it matters, where people are locally – is awesome."

Isaac is another former winner of the DeVos family's season-end community award.

Magic Thanksgiving Breakfast with the Coalition of the Homeless of Central Florida

Members of the Magic organization pose during the team's annual Thanksgiving celebration breakfast.
The Magic's yearly tradition of hosting and serving breakfast to the homeless of Central Florida reached it's 32nd year in 2024. / Mason Williams, Orlando Magic on SI

An annual tradition for the Magic, the team, in conjunction with the Coalition of the Homeless of Central Florida, hosted breakfast at the organization's headquarters. The building is just blocks from the team's practice facility and home Kia Center.

Thursday morning, the Magic served breakfast to more than 500 members of the community – both to the 400 of those who reside at the Coalition and more than 100 other unsheltered individuals from the community.

Mosley, team president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, vice president of shareholder engagement Ryan DeVos and additional members of the DeVos family, Outlaw and Nick Anderson joined in the act of the team's annual tradition. This was the 32nd year of the breakfast taking place.

"I think it's the most important thing," Mosley said Thursday. "I really do believe that we are so blessed in so many ways, so our ability to give back and share those blessings and take care of those that are less fortunate, that's our job."

"It's amazing to be able to really remember the reason for the holiday, to give back and support our community that gives us so much," Ryan DeVos said. "We wouldn't be able to go and do what we do on the court [and] in the business world without the support of our fans and the greater Central Florida community."

"I've been in the league for 35 years. I've worked for six different teams, and the Orlando Magic is a special organization, and this, to me, is one of the most special days of the year," Weltman said. "This is truly like our community. These are our people.'

Added Weltman: "It means everything. A lot of our kids have grown up doing this on Thanksgiving. This is part of Thanksgiving, is we wake up and we come here, this is how we start the day. We do care a lot about keeping our families together through the vagaries of an NBA season. A day like this really helps us with our families, and it's so nice to share it with people that are close to us."

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