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. 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 2024, this was the last season the Magic won a playoff series.

Key dates

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.

Trades

Free agents acquired

Players re-signed

Miscellaneous

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Standings

z – clinched home court advantage through NBA Finals y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

17,461 17,525 18,147 15,487 17,461 17,461 18,203 13,415 17,461 17,461 17,461 17,461 18,624 17,233 17,461 19,193 16,128 18,861 17,461 19,054 16,750 18,735 18,216 17,461 17,461 18,303 17,461 17,461 17,461 17,461 17,461 17,065 21,162 11,119 17,461 20,173 17,461 14,426 18,475 20,650 18,997 17,461 17,461 19,277 12,273 17,461 17,461 19,107 17,461 17,461 18,264 17,461 21,566 20,562 17,461 17,461 17,461 15,749 16,954 17,461 15,817 17,461 15,320 17,461 17,461 17,461 20,173 17,461 17,461 18,874 13,995 16,887 17,461 17,461 19,965 18,581 17,461 17,461 17,461 20,562 18,165 17,461

Playoffs

Game log

17,461 17,461 19,596 19,086 17,461 17,461 18,729 18,729 17,461 17,461 18,624 18,624 17,461 18,624

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards, records and milestones

Awards and honors

Player of the Week

Coach of the Month

Injuries and surgeries

Though he was not expected to get much playing time, Adonal Foyle underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on October 21, a little more than a week before the start of the season. His return depends on how well his knee recovers with treatment. Vince Carter was injured on October 30 during the second game of the season, suffering a sprained left ankle. The injury was reported as not too serious, but caused Carter to miss four of the Magic's next five games. Ryan Anderson injured his ankle in the game against Detroit on November 3. He missed the following 4 games before returning to play against the Bobcats. Jameer Nelson suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee during the 4th quarter of a game on November 16. The next day it was revealed that arthroscopic surgery would be required to repair the injury. He was expected to be out 4–6 weeks, but a report later in the week stated his teammates expected him to be gone for only 3 weeks. Ultimately, Nelson would return to action on December 21, five weeks to the day of his injury.

Minor League Affiliate

The Magic are affiliated with the Reno Bighorns of the D-League. They replace the Bakersfield Jam for the 2009–10 season.