Behind The Magic Series 1 : Quentin Richardson Still Believes in the Orlando Magic
By Craig Larson Jr.
Every era of Orlando Magic basketball has its defining voices, personalities and stories. In our Behind the Magic series, we’re reconnecting with the former players and coaches who lived those moments to revisit the memories that shaped their time in Orlando. From untold locker-room stories and unforgettable games to the relationships that made those teams special, they’ll also share their perspective on today’s Magic squad, its young core and what it will take for the franchise to make its next deep postseason run. Our series tips off with a man who played 13 seasons in the association, former 3-point champion Quentin Richardson.
Q: I want to begin with your years playing alongside Dwight Howard. Just how dominant was he when you joined in 2010?
A: He was extremely dominant at that point. I think he was the most dominant player in the league at that time, and by a landslide. I’ll tell you, I played with a lot of guys in my career, but he was the most dominant big man I ever had a chance to play with, for sure.
Q: Any funny Stan Van Gundy stories?
A: My favorite memory was from my first season in Orlando. I had seen a lot of his antics while playing against him for years, but playing for him was something else. Stan was a character.
We were playing the Atlanta Hawks. This was when Atlanta had Josh Smith, Joe Johnson and Al Horford, and they had a play they’d run off the opening tip where they’d set this screen. It was literally a play right from the jump ball.
Let me tell you something: Stan was the most prepared coach I ever had. Actually, he was overprepared. We practiced that particular play over and over leading up to the game. We ran through it in practice, during shootaround, in the walkthrough and even before the start of the game, when he was diagramming it in the huddle.
So, the game starts. On the first play, they run it, and it’s a lob dunk. Stan is furious. He calls a timeout. We’re only about three seconds into the game, and he goes absolutely berserk. He made us feel like it was the last shot of the game!
Q: What was he saying?
A: Oh, man. Three seconds into the game, he was saying we didn’t want to win, and I was just thinking, This man is insane. I thought he was going to go into cardiac arrest.
Jameer Nelson said to him, “Relax, Coach. The other team is going to score,” but Stan wasn’t having it.
To this day, when something bad happens on the court, I’ll do my high-pitched Stan Van Gundy voice. I love Stan to death. He’s one of my favorite people.
Q: During that stretch, you guys were pretty good. Are you surprised you didn’t go farther than you did?
A: I think so. Those were some of the best teams I played on. In the Eastern Conference, we had a chance, but LeBron, D-Wade and those guys were in Miami doing their thing. We had some good battles with them, but I think everything started to come apart toward the end.
Q: What about the current Magic? What’s it going to take for this squad to make a deep postseason run?
A: Coach Mosley did a great job despite the circumstances. I think the biggest thing they needed was health. When the roster is healthy, things are just different. They need more consistency because when you lose your top two guys to weird, freak injuries I’d never even heard of before (laughs), that sets you back. Even Jalen Suggs missed time. Those were some of your top players.
Q: Do you think the team chemistry is good?
A: I think that was frustrating. People started saying things, but Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner like each other. Those are two great young players. They just haven’t had the chance to be 100% healthy together. The injuries have kept them from reaching their full potential. I feel like the biggest impediment has been injuries. We don’t know how far they could’ve gone or how good they could’ve been if they’d stayed healthy. It has nothing to do with all the other noise.
Written by: Craig Larson Jr.
