Coming off consecutive playoff appearances, the Orlando Magic are launching into a new era of championship contention behind stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. And to usher this new era in, the Magic are embracing a new visual identity, replete with updated logos, uniforms and a court design.
Uniform updates don’t win games themselves, but Orlando has been one of the most stylish teams in the league since its first season in 1989, and this throwback set is worthy of style points. From the franchise’s inaugural pinstripe uniforms with Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway to the sublimated star design of the Tracy McGrady years that featured as the Magic’s Classic Edition jersey to the innovative Space- and Citrus-themed City Edition alternates, the Magic have capitalized on their distinctive black-and-blue color scheme and innovated at each turn. When Orlando announced its first identity revamp in 16 years (the first year I started watching them, coincidentally), I had high hopes for the updates, given that uniforms are one of the Magic’s rare strong suits and the recognizable but middle-of-the-pack current uniform set.
I’m particularly passionate about the subject — the Magic’s alluring uniform colors (matched with the exciting 2008-09 run to the NBA Finals) drew me in as a fan a decade and a half ago, and I have never looked back. While the Miami Heat are the Florida team that has attracted superstars and played deep into the postseason, the Magic held my attention as a small-market team with an exciting history, but without a championship trophy to call its own through its first three decades. Orlando hasn’t even won a playoff series since I’ve started following as a fan — the city hasn’t enjoyed a playoff series win since 2010 — and in some depressing years, the jerseys were the only aspects I could root for and use as reason to tune in. After commemorating my interest in the team with a blue Dwight Howard replica jersey growing up, I own six Magic jerseys currently: a Shaquille O’Neal throwback jersey, a blue Aaron Gordon statement jersey, two City Edition jerseys with the space theme for Gordon and Mo Bamba, a white-and-orange City Edition jersey for Terrence Ross and the team’s current “Icon” black jersey for guard Jalen Suggs. If that collection hasn’t hammered the point home, the Magic’s visual identity is a major part of the appeal of the team to me and a genuine point of pride for a championship-less franchise. When I saw the Magic post immediately upon opening the social media site X this morning, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.
The Magic rolled out the entire brand refresh on Tuesday, and the immediate reception is unusually warm. Orlando emulated its pinstripe look from the 1990s with its main two uniforms, darkened the shade of blue and updated its logo and wordmark to blend its past and future. Is this refresh an upgrade? These are my quick-hitter thoughts, months before the Magic show off its new look in regular-season action.
Logos: The Magic have always used a variation of a basketball with stars as its primary logo. In this refresh, they’re harkening back to the team’s inaugural basketball logo, while adding modern touches with five stars coming off the left side of the ball. Using a basketball in the logo can be an uninspired choice, with 20 of the 30 NBA teams including a basketball somewhere in their logo, but Orlando is one of the three teams that uses a basketball best, so the choice does not feel cliche. Technically, the Magic unveiled three new logos: the blue basketball with the five stars as the primary, a “global” logo that includes the primary logo within a roundel with the Magic’s new wordmark and a distinctive secondary logo that gives the blue basketball a tail. All three are a significant design upgrade from the amusing comet-like logo the Magic have used since 2000, and while the three logos don’t reach the level of the classic basketball logo from the Magic’s glory days, they deserve to be in the same conversation. Grade: A-.
Colors: Enough of professional sports teams coming up with contrived names to connect their colors with aspects of their community. Orlando revealed three colors: Magic black, Magic white and Magic blue (I’m not making that up). The Magic blue has changed, though. Orlando will utilize a deeper shade of blue that is closest to royal blue. While the three-color combination is simple and distinctive in the NBA and in line with the Magic’s uniform history, so was the previous lighter shade from the previous sets, which is closer to electric blue. The Magic weren’t going to tinker with colors too noticeably in establishing its new look, but I’d grade the tweak as a slight downgrade. Grade: B.
Wordmark: Orlando’s most modern aspect of its new identity is the updated wordmark. In their history, the Magic used a cartoonish wordmark that substituted stars for vowels for a couple decades, then pivoted to a more business-like wordmark that is synonymous with the Dwight Howard era in 2010. Orlando splits the two approaches this time around, with a star filling in for the “A” in Orlando and Magic and a clean italics font used for the city and team name. Both names show prominently on the Magic’s uniforms with a black outline and pop on the fabric. If I had to criticize any aspect of Orlando’s look, it would be this bland wordmark and font, which get the job done but lack the personality of past looks and doesn’t elevate the jersey. Then again, the wordmark is an aspect that could improve over time as the look is entrenched and develops positive connotations. For right now, it’s the only part of the uniform update that could be considered a slight downgrade, but pivoting away from the previous font earns points for just shaking the look up. Grade: C+.
Court: The Magic’s new court design could not be better. While teams like the Brooklyn Nets may have more visually alluring courts by leaning into darker colors, the Magic are going with a more classic look but makes it fully Orlando. The court is a more pleasant tan than the previous home court with an aesthetically pleasing parquet pattern, but what makes the court is the color. The baseline, sideline and key are Magic blue, and Orlando’s roundel logo takes center stage and looks huge. I can’t wait to see the Magic initiate fast breaks up and down this floor. Grade: A.
Association (White) Uniform: The best of the Magic’s three uniforms. Orlando’s white uniform is almost an exact copy of the home look from the 1990s. The uniform features the new Magic wordmark in blue on a white jersey with black pinstripes. This version is more blue than its 1990s predecessor, but also downgrades on the wordmark, which is the one aspect holding this look back. Beyond the wordmark, there’s not much creativity, but there doesn’t need to be — the look is classic and distinctive. The white Association uniforms are the staple of every NBA team’s wardrobe, and the Magic absolutely crushed this assignment. Grade: A-, ranks sixth out of 30 NBA Association uniforms
Icon (Blue) Uniform: An overlooked aspect about the Magic’s rollout of its new uniforms is the switch from black icon uniforms, which is the case for a third of the NBA, to a more unique royal blue. Like the Association uniforms, Icon Uniforms comprise the core of an NBA team’s uniform set, lasting more seasons and appearing in more games than alternates. The blue uniform is also very similar to the 1990s look that served as a throwback in the late 2010s, though again, the wordmark is less fun and a detractor. Still, the white pinstripes on the blue jersey is a sharp look and one that is leagues better than the Magic’s last two blue uniforms, which both struggled to utilize pinstripes and ended up a visual mess. This uniform is not an immediate must-buy (probably better for my budget that it is not), but it is a sharp look that triumphantly welcomes blue back into the regular rotation. Grade: B+, ranks 12th out of 30
Statement (Black/Alternate) Uniform: Statement uniforms are less high-stakes because they are alternates that can be phased out after a couple of years, so NBA teams have taken bold swings with this classification. Orlando does exactly that while staying within the confines of its color scheme. Rather than completing the 1990s revival with a rendition of the classic black uniform (maybe the best look in franchise history), the Magic are throwing it back to the warmup jackets those teams wore before tipoff. The uniform features the “MAGIC” wordmark on a diagonal stripe, with a blue top above the stripe and white pinstripes on a black uniform below the stripe. It’s certainly a lot going on, and the whole pattern is more cohesive on a warmup jacket than a uniform. I still like this uniform as an alternate look, but it is the weakest link of an otherwise formidable trio. Grade: B-, ranks 10th out of 30
The Verdict: Ushering in this new era of Magic basketball with a return to a classic look and a modernized logo is a terrific choice that will distinguish this phase of contention from past years. At the very least, Orlando improved on its run-of-the-mill previous visual identity, which had run its course over 16 years and been stripped down to its safest, blandest elements. The home uniform, away uniform, home court and logo are undeniable upgrades, and the Magic ventured in the direction of the best aspects of its aesthetic, even if the execution and modernization wasn’t perfect (the darker royal shade and generic wordmark dock points here). If this next generation of Magic basketball can accomplish what past generations could not and bring the Larry O’Brien trophy to Orlando, this set would have the success to match with its style and could earn the coveted distinction of “classic” in its own right.
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