The 2009–10 Orlando Magic season was the Magic's 21st season 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 venue.
The team traded for Vince Carter before the 2009-10 season. The inclusion of Carter aimed to provide the Magic with a seasoned NBA perimeter superstar to complement Dwight Howard's abilities. This was in response to the 2009 NBA Finals defeat at the hands of the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.
The Magic would replicate their previous regular season performance and boasted the NBA's fourth highest offensive rating among all teams.
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 the Magic were favoured but ultimately lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. The Celtics would go on to lose to the Lakers in the Finals.
As of 2026, this was the last season the Magic won a playoff series.
Key dates June 25 – The 2009 NBA draft took place in New York City. July 8 – The free agency period started. October 28 – The Magic began the season with a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. November 16 – Rashard Lewis made his season debut after serving a 10-game suspension for testing positive for DHEA, a banned substance. November 17 – It was announced that Jameer Nelson needed surgery after injuring his knee in the previous night's game.Magic's Jameer Nelson to have knee surgery December 21 – Nelson returned from his injury. January 21 – Dwight Howard was named the starting center for the Eastern Conference in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. January 31 – Stan Van Gundy was named the coach of the East's all-stars in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.Van Gundy to Serve as East All-Star Coach March 3 – The Magic clinched their third consecutive winning season with a win over the Golden State Warriors. March 16 – By virtue of the Charlotte Bobcats losing that night, the Magic clinched a playoff berth. April 6 – By virtue of the Atlanta Hawks losing that night, the Magic clinched their third consecutive Southeast Division title. April 14 – The regular season ended. The Magic finished with the same win–loss record as the previous season. April 20 – Dwight Howard was awarded the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive season. April 26 – The Magic won their first round series in the playoffs by sweeping the Charlotte Bobcats. It was the first sweep of a 7-game series for the Magic in franchise history.Magic take 99-90 win to close out first round with sweep of Bobcats May 10 – The Magic completed a sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semi-finals. May 28 – After losing the first three games of the series, the Magic won the next two before losing Game 6 on the road against the Boston Celtics.
Summary
NBA Draft 2009
As a result of previous trades made by the Orlando Magic, they did not have any draft choices. However, the NBA still had Adidas make a Draft Cap, which would have been given to a potential draft choice. The hat was available for public purchase on the NBA's official webstore.
Transactions The Magic have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.
Players Added Via Trade Vince Carter (From Nets) Ryan Anderson (From Nets) Via Free Agency Matt Barnes (To Suns) Brandon Bass (To Mavericks) Marcin Gortat (From Re-signed)Players Lost Via Sign & Trade Hedo Türkoğlu (To Raptors) Trade Tony Battie (To Nets) Rafer Alston (To Nets) Courtney Lee (To Nets)
Trades Date June 25, 2009Orlando Acquires Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from New Jersey To New Jersey Nets Rafer AlstonTony BattieCourtney Lee To Orlando Magic Vince CarterRyan Anderson July 9, 2009Orlando Acquires Future Considerations in Four-Team Trade To Toronto Raptors Hedo TürkoğluDevean GeorgeAntoine Wright To Dallas Mavericks Shawn MarionKris HumphriesNathan JawaiGreg BucknerCash Considerations To Memphis Grizzlies Future Second Round NBA draft ChoiceCash Considerations To Orlando Magic Cash Considerations
Free agents acquired
Player Former team Contract terms Brandon BassMagic Sign Free Agent Brandon Bass Dallas Mavericks Four Years, $16,000,000 Matt Barnes Phoenix Suns Two Years Jason WilliamsMagic Sign Free Agent Jason Williams Miami Heat One Year, $1,300,000 Morris AlmondMagic Sign Almond, Johnson; Prepare For Camp Utah Jazz Waived Linton Johnson III Chicago Bulls Waived pre-season
Players re-signed
Player Contract terms Marcin GortatMagic Retain Marcin Gortat Five Years, $34,000,000 Adonal FoyleMagic Re-Sign Adonal Foyle One Year
Miscellaneous Player Date Transaction Rashard LewisLewis Suspended August 6, 2009 Suspended by NBA for 10 games.
Roster
Preseason 2009 Pre-season game log: 8–0 (home: 4–0; road: 3–0; Neutral: 1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT High Scorer Attendance Record Recap 1 October 5 Orlando Magic 110–105 Dallas Mavericks Vince Carter (21) 16,596 1–0 2 October 7 Miami Heat 86–90 Orlando Magic Ryan Anderson (16) 16,101 2–0 3 October 9 Houston Rockets 104–113 Orlando Magic Rashard Lewis (22) 16,344 3–0 4 October 12 Orlando Magic 102–83 Memphis Grizzlies Mickaël Piétrus (19) 7,681 4–0 5 October 13 (in Wichita, Kansas) Orlando Magic 121–86 New Orleans Hornets Ryan Anderson (22) 5–0 6 October 19 Orlando Magic 101–98 Chicago Bulls Ryan Anderson, Dwight Howard (18) 20,688 6–0 7 October 21 Indiana Pacers 87–117 Orlando Magic Vince Carter (21) 16,218 7–0 8 October 23 Atlanta Hawks 86-123 Orlando Magic Vince Carter (26) 17,343 8–0
Regular season
Standings
z – clinched home court advantage through NBA Finals y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 1 | October 28 | Philadelphia | | Dwight Howard (21) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Amway Arena17,461 | 1–0 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 2 | October 30 | @ New Jersey | | Dwight Howard (20) | Dwight Howard (22) | Jason Williams (8) | Izod Center17,525 | 2–0
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 3 | November 1 | @ Toronto | | Jameer Nelson (30) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick (5) | Air Canada Centre18,147 | 3–0 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | November 3 | @ Detroit | | Vince Carter (15) | Matt Barnes, Marcin Gortat (7) | Jameer Nelson (6) | The Palace of Auburn Hills15,487 | 3–1 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 5 | November 4 | Phoenix | | Dwight Howard (25) | Matt Barnes (11) | Jameer Nelson (10) | Amway Arena17,461 | 4–1 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 6 | November 6 | Detroit | | Dwight Howard (22) | Dwight Howard (12) | Jameer Nelson (8) | Amway Arena17,461 | 5–1 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | November 8 | @ Oklahoma City | | Dwight Howard (20) | Dwight Howard (7) | Jason Williams (5) | Ford Center18,203 | 5–2 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 8 | November 10 | @ Charlotte | | Vince Carter, Dwight Howard (15) | Dwight Howard (10) | Dwight Howard (6) | Time Warner Cable Arena13,415 | 6–2 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 9 | November 11 | Cleveland | | Vince Carter (29) | Marcin Gortat (8) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Arena17,461 | 6–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 10 | November 13 | New Jersey | | Dwight Howard (26) | Matt Barnes (13) | Matt Barnes (5) | Amway Arena17,461 | 7–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 11 | November 16 | Charlotte | | Jameer Nelson (16) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Arena17,461 | 8–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 12 | November 18 | Oklahoma City | | Vince Carter (18) | Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis (10) | Rashard Lewis (9) | Amway Arena17,461 | 9–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 13 | November 20 | @ Boston | | Vince Carter (26) | Dwight Howard (15) | Vince Carter, Jason Williams (6) | TD Garden18,624 | 10–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 14 | November 22 | @ Toronto | | Vince Carter (24) | Dwight Howard (12) | JJ Redick (5) | Air Canada Centre17,233 | 11–3 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 15 | November 25 | Miami | | Jason Williams (25) | Dwight Howard (16) | Jason Williams (8) | Amway Arena17,461 | 11–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 16 | November 26 | @ Atlanta | | Dwight Howard (22) | Dwight Howard (17) | Matt Barnes, Dwight Howard, Anthony Johnson, Jason Williams (3) | Philips Arena19,193 | 12–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 17 | November 28 | @ Milwaukee
| Dwight Howard, Vince Carter (25) | Dwight Howard (20) | Jason Williams (10) | Bradley Center16,128 | 13–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 18 | November 29 | @ New York | | Rashard Lewis (26) | Dwight Howard (16) | Jason Williams (8) | Madison Square Garden18,861 | 14–4
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 19 | December 2 | New York | | Rashard Lewis (20) | Rashard Lewis (11) | Vince Carter, Jason Williams (5) | Amway Arena17,461 | 15–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 20 | December 5 | @ Golden State | | Vince Carter (27) | Dwight Howard (8) | Jason Williams (8) | Oracle Arena19,054 | 16–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 21 | December 8 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Dwight Howard (25) | Dwight Howard (11) | Dwight Howard (5) | Staples Center16,750 | 17–4 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 22 | December 10 | @ Utah | | Vince Carter (34) | Dwight Howard (10) | Jason Williams (5) | EnergySolutions Arena18,735 | 17–5 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 23 | December 11 | @ Phoenix | | Rashard Lewis (24) | Dwight Howard (18) | Vince Carter, Jason Williams (6) | US Airways Center18,216 | 17–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 24 | December 14 | Indiana | | Vince Carter (28) | Dwight Howard (23) | Anthony Johnson (7) | Amway Arena17,461 | 18–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 25 | December 16 | Toronto | | Rashard Lewis (21) | Dwight Howard (14) | Vince Carter, Jason Williams (7) | Amway Arena17,461 | 19–6 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 26 | December 17 | @ Miami | | Dwight Howard (17) | Dwight Howard (14) | Anthony Johnson (5) | American Airlines Arena18,303 | 19–7 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 27 | December 19 | Portland | | Rashard Lewis (15) | Dwight Howard (20) | Vince Carter, Anthony Johnson (3) | Amway Arena17,461 | 20–7 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 28 | December 21 | Utah | | Dwight Howard (21) | Vince Carter, Dwight Howard (9) | Jason Williams (4) | Amway Arena17,461 | 21–7 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 29 | December 23 | Houston | | Vince Carter (18) | Dwight Howard (20) | Jason Williams (6) | Amway Arena17,461 | 22–7 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 30 | December 25 | Boston | | Vince Carter (27) | Dwight Howard (20) | Jameer Nelson (3) | Amway Arena17,461 | 22–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 31 | December 30 | Milwaukee | | Vince Carter (25) | Dwight Howard (10) | Jason Williams (7) | Amway Arena17,461 | 23–8
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 32 | January 1 | @ Minnesota | | Rashard Lewis (21) | Dwight Howard (15) | Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson (6) | Target Center17,065 | 24–8 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 33 | January 2 | @ Chicago | | Matt Barnes (23) | Dwight Howard (12) | Jameer Nelson (10) | United Center21,162 | 24–9 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 34 | January 5 | @ Indiana | | Jameer Nelson, Mickaël Piétrus (16) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson (4) | Conseco Fieldhouse11,119 | 24–10 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 35 | January 6 | Toronto | | Rashard Lewis (24) | Dwight Howard (12) | Jameer Nelson (8) | Amway Arena17,461 | 24–11 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | January 8 | @ Washington | | Dwight Howard (23) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Verizon Center20,173 | 24–12 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 37 | January 9 | Atlanta | | Matt Barnes (18) | Marcin Gortat (12) | Jason Williams (6) | Amway Arena17,461 | 25–12 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 38 | January 12 | @ Sacramento | | Dwight Howard (30) | Dwight Howard (16) | Jason Williams (6) | ARCO Arena14,426 | 26–12 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 39 | January 13 | @ Denver | | Matt Barnes (28) | Dwight Howard (13) | Jason Williams (4) | Pepsi Center18,475 | 26–13 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 15 | @ Portland | | Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson (15) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jason Williams (4) | Rose Garden20,650 | 26–14 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 41 | January 18 | @ L.A. Lakers |