2011–12 Orlando Magic season

The 2011–12 Orlando Magic season was the 23rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team finished in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 37–29 record in a regular season shortened by the lockout and an offseason where trade rumours that included starting center Dwight Howard abounded. After the Magic's playoff loss against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs in five games, the Orlando franchise parted ways with head coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith. The Amway Center, the Magic's home court, was the venue of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.

This season also marked the end of an era as Dwight Howard, along with Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2012 off-season. The Magic would not earn a playoff berth again until the 2018–19 season when Dwight was with the Washington Wizards.

Key dates

• June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
• December 18: The Magic had the first of their two-game preseason against Miami at American Airlines Arena.
• December 25: The regular season begins and the Magic have an away game at Oklahoma City. This is the Magic's first regular season game. They lost the season opener 89–97.
• December 26: The Magic had their first home game of the regular season at the Amway Center. They played the Houston Rockets. The Magic also achieved their first win of the season, with a score of 104–95.
• April 15: Orlando secures a playoff spot with a 100–84 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster notes

• Center Dwight Howard played 54 games (his last game being on April 7, 2012) but missed the remainder of the season and the playoffs after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disk which also led to him missing the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Pre-season

Due to the 2011 NBA lockout negotiations, the programmed pre-season schedule, along with the first two weeks of the regular season were scrapped, and a two-game pre-season was set for each team once the lockout concluded.

|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | December 18 | @ Miami | | Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick (22) | Ryan Anderson (8) | Jameer Nelson (7) | American Airlines Arena<br />20,100 | 0–1 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 2 | December 21 | Miami | | Glen Davis (18) | Dwight Howard (9) | Jameer Nelson (10) | Amway Center<br />19,045 | 1–1

Regular season

Standings

Game log

|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | December 25 | @ Oklahoma City | | Ryan Anderson (25) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Chesapeake Energy Arena<br />18,203 | 0–1 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | December 26 | Houston | | Hedo Türkoğlu (23) | Dwight Howard (7) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 1–1 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | December 29 | New Jersey | | Ryan Anderson (22) | Dwight Howard (24) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,954 | 2–1 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 4 | December 30 | @ Charlotte | | Ryan Anderson (23) | Dwight Howard (24) | Chris Duhon (6) | Time Warner Cable Arena<br>18,064 | 3–1

|- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | January 1 | Toronto | | Ryan Anderson (24) | Dwight Howard (15) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 4–1 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | January 2 | @ Detroit | | Dwight Howard (19) | Dwight Howard (7) | Jameer Nelson (5) | The Palace of Auburn Hills<br />8,120 | 4–2 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | January 4 | Washington | | Dwight Howard (28) | Dwight Howard (20) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 5–2 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 8 | January 6 | Chicago | | Dwight Howard (28) | Dwight Howard (15) | Chris Duhon (4) | Amway Center<br />18,912 | 5–3 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | January 8 | @ Sacramento | | Jason Richardson (22) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Power Balance Pavilion<br />14,150 | 6–3 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | January 11 | @ Portland | | JJ Redick (17) | Dwight Howard (13) | Hedo Türkoğlu (6) | Rose Garden<br />20,467 | 7–3 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 11 | January 12 | @ Golden State | | Dwight Howard (45) | Dwight Howard (23) | Hedo Türkoğlu (9) | Oracle Arena<br />17,754 | 8–3 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | January 16 | @ New York | | Ryan Anderson (30) | Dwight Howard (10) | Jameer Nelson (7) | Madison Square Garden<br />19,763 | 9–3 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | January 17 | Charlotte | | Dwight Howard (25) | Dwight Howard (17) | Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson (4) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 10–3 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 | January 18 | San Antonio | | Dwight Howard (24) | Dwight Howard (25) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 10–4 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | January 20 | L. A. Lakers | | Dwight Howard (21) | Dwight Howard (23) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 11–4 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 16 | January 23 | @ Boston | | Dwight Howard (18) | Dwight Howard (14) | Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson (3) | TD Garden<br />18,624 | 11–5 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | January 24 | @ Indiana | | Ryan Anderson (24) | Dwight Howard (9) | Hedo Türkoğlu (8) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse<br />12,760 | 12–5 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | January 26 | Boston | | Dwight Howard (16) | Dwight Howard (16) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,952 | 12–6 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 19 | January 27 | @ New Orleans | | Dwight Howard (28) | Dwight Howard (16) | Chris Duhon (5) | New Orleans Arena<br />16,176 | 12–7 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 20 | January 29 | Indiana | | Dwight Howard (24) | Dwight Howard (13) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,952 | 12–8 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 21 | January 30 | @ Philadelphia | | Dwight Howard (17) | Ryan Anderson (20) | Quentin Richardson (3) | Wells Fargo Center<br />16,299 | 12–9

|- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | February 1 | Washington | | Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson (23) | Dwight Howard (18) | Hedo Türkoğlu (5) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 13–9 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 23 | February 3 | Cleveland | | Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson (19) | Dwight Howard (16) | Chris Duhon (5) | Amway Center<br />18,933 | 14–9 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | February 4 | @ Indiana | | Dwight Howard (27) | Hedo Türkoğlu (10) | Chris Duhon, Jason Richardson (5) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse<br />18,165 | 15–9 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 25 | February 6 | L. A. Clippers | | Dwight Howard (33) | Dwight Howard (14) | Jameer Nelson (12) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 15–10 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 26 | February 8 | Miami | | Ryan Anderson (27) | Dwight Howard (24) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,972 | 16–10 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 27 | February 10 | Atlanta | | Ryan Anderson (21) | Dwight Howard (18) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 16–11 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 28 | February 11 | @ Milwaukee | | Jason Richardson (31) | Dwight Howard (14) | Chris Duhon, Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Bradley Center<br />17,723 | 17–11 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | February 13 | Minnesota | | Jason Richardson (17) | Dwight Howard (7) | Hedo Türkoğlu (6) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 18–11 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 30 | February 15 | Philadelphia | | Ryan Anderson (27) | Dwight Howard (14) | Jameer Nelson (14) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 19–11 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 31 | February 17 | Milwaukee | | Dwight Howard (26) | Dwight Howard (20) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 20–11 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 32 | February 19 | @ Miami | | JJ Redick (17) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson (4) | American Airlines Arena<br />20,185 | 20–12 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 33 | February 20 | @ Milwaukee | | Dwight Howard (28) | Dwight Howard (16) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Bradley Center<br />13,143 | 21–12 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 | February 22 | @ New Jersey | | Dwight Howard (20) | Dwight Howard (17) | Jameer Nelson (7) | Prudential Center<br />15,364 | 22–12 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 35 | February 23 | @ Atlanta | | JJ Redick (13) | Dwight Howard (12) | Chris Duhon, Ish Smith, Hedo Türkoğlu (4) | Philips Arena<br />14,523 | 22–13 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 36 | February 29 | @ Washington | | Ryan Anderson (23) | Ryan Anderson (15) | Hedo Türkoğlu (6) | Verizon Center<br />18,688 | 23–13

|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 37 | March 1 | Oklahoma City | | Dwight Howard (33) | Dwight Howard (9) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 23–14 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | March 3 | Milwaukee | | Dwight Howard (28) | Dwight Howard (14) | Jameer Nelson (10) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 24–14 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 39 | March 5 | @ Toronto | | Dwight Howard (36) | Ryan Anderson, Dwight Howard (13) | Hedo Türkoğlu (9) | Air Canada Centre<br />15,392 | 25–14 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 50 | March 6 | @ Charlotte | | Dwight Howard (15) | Dwight Howard (17) | Jameer Nelson (4) | Time Warner Cable Arena<br />13,110 | 25–15 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 41 | March 8 | @ Chicago | | Dwight Howard (29) | Dwight Howard (18) | Jameer Nelson (7) | United Center<br />22,127 | 26–15 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | March 11 | Indiana | | Dwight Howard (30) | Dwight Howard (13) | JJ Redick (9) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 27–15 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | March 13 | Miami | | Jameer Nelson (25) | Dwight Howard (25) | Hedo Türkoğlu (5) | Amway Center<br />18,879 | 28–15 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 44 | March 14 | @ San Antonio | | Jameer Nelson (25) | Dwight Howard (12) | Jameer Nelson (7) | AT&T Center<br />18,581 | 28–16 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | March 16 | New Jersey | | Dwight Howard (18) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (6) | Amway Center<br />18,938 | 29–16 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 46 | March 18 | @ Miami | | Dwight Howard (18) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson (6) | American Airlines Arena<br />20,003 | 29–17 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 | March 19 | Chicago | | Dwight Howard (18) | Dwight Howard (12) | Dwight Howard, JJ Redick, Jason Richardson (2) | Amway Center<br />18,998 | 29–18 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 48 | March 21 | Phoenix | | Ryan Anderson (29) | Dwight Howard (16) | Jason Richardson (5) | Amway Center<br />18,930 | 30–18 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 49 | March 23 | Cleveland | | Ryan Anderson (17) | Dwight Howard (13) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 31–18 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 50 | March 26 | @ Toronto | | Ryan Anderson (28) | Dwight Howard (10) | Hedo Türkoğlu (8) | Air Canada Centre<br />16,429 | 32–18 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 51 | March 28 | @ New York | | Jameer Nelson (17) | Glen Davis (6) | Jameer Nelson (4) | Madison Square Garden<br />19,763 | 32–19 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 52 | March 30 | Dallas | | Jameer Nelson (24) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (4) | Amway Center<br />18,951 | 32–20

|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 53 | April 1 | Denver | | Jameer Nelson (27) | Glen Davis (16) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Center<br />18,951 | 32–21 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 54 | April 3 | @ Detroit | | Glen Davis (31) | Glen Davis (10) | Chris Duhon (5) | The Palace of Auburn Hills<br />16,741 | 32–22 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 55 | April 5 | New York | | Jason Richardson (16) | Dwight Howard (8) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Center<br />19,098 | 32–23 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 56 | April 7 | @ Philadelphia | | Glen Davis (23) | Dwight Howard (22) | Dwight Howard (6) | Wells Fargo Center<br />19,775 | 33–23 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 57 | April 9 | Detroit | | Jason Richardson (22) | Glen Davis (16) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Center<br />18,998 | 34–23 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 58 | April 10 | @ Washington | | Jameer Nelson (19) | Glen Davis (10) | Jameer Nelson (7) | Verizon Center<br />15,355 | 34–24 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 59 | April 13 | Atlanta | | Glen Davis, Von Wafer (16) | Glen Davis (9) | Jameer Nelson, Von Wafer (4) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 34–25 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 60 | April 15 | @ Cleveland | | Jameer Nelson (21) | Ryan Anderson (13) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Quicken Loans Arena<br />16,305 | 35–25 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 61 | April 16 | Philadelphia | | Ryan Anderson (26) | Ryan Anderson (16) | Jameer Nelson (13) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 36–25 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 62 | April 18 | @ Boston | | Glen Davis (27) | Ryan Anderson (9) | Jameer Nelson (9) | TD Garden<br />18,624 | 36–26 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 63 | April 21 | @ Utah | | Jameer Nelson (23) | Glen Davis (13) | Jameer Nelson (11) | EnergySolutions Arena<br />19,580 | 36–27 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 64 | April 22 | @ Denver | | Ryan Anderson (24) | Ryan Anderson (9) | Jason Richardson, Von Wafer (4) | Pepsi Center<br />19,155 | 36–28 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 65 | April 25 | Charlotte | | JJ Redick (31) | Ryan Anderson (13) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Center<br />19,152 | 37–28 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 66 | April 26 | @ Memphis | | Hedo Türkoğlu (18) | Earl Clark (9) | Chris Duhon, Daniel Orton, Ish Smith (3) | FedExForum<br />17,215 | 37–29

Playoffs

Game log

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 1 | April 28 | @ Indiana | | Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson (17) | Glen Davis (13) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse<br />18,165 | 1–0 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 30 | @ Indiana | | Glen Davis (18) | Glen Davis (10) | Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Jason Richardson (3) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse<br />18,165 | 1–1 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 2 | Indiana | | Glen Davis (22) | Quentin Richardson (10) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 1–2 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | May 5 | Indiana | | Jason Richardson (25) | Glen Davis (11) | Jameer Nelson (11) | Amway Center<br />18,846 | 1–3 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | May 8 | @ Indiana | | Jameer Nelson (27) | Glen Davis (8) | Jameer Nelson (5) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse<br />18,165 | 1–4

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

• Ryan Anderson won the NBA Most Improved Player Award.
• Dwight Howard was selected to the All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Defensive First Team and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (January 16 – January 22).
• Dwight Howard attempted a record 39&nbsp;free throws against the Golden State Warriors, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of 34 set in 1962.

All-Star

• Dwight Howard made his sixth All-Star appearance at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game held in Orlando.
• Ryan Anderson participated in the Three-Point Contest.
• Jameer Nelson participated in the Shooting Stars Competition along Phoenix Mercury player Marie Ferdinand-Harris and former Orlando Magic player Dennis Scott.

Injuries and disciplinary actions

• Hedo Türkoğlu underwent surgery to repair a facial fracture sustained during a game against the New York Knicks on April 5 and missed the remainder of the regular season.
• Glen Davis was suspended 2 games by the team for conduct detrimental to the team. A month later he was fined US$35,000 by the league for making an obscene gesture in a game against the Toronto Raptors.
• Hedo Türkoğlu was suspended 1 game by the league for making intentional contact with an official during a game against the Chicago Bulls.
• Chris Duhon was suspended 1 game by the team for violating team rules.
• In April, Dwight Howard underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back and was out for the remainder of the season.

Transactions

Overview

Trades

Free agents

Many players signed with teams from other leagues due to the 2011 NBA lockout. FIBA allows players under NBA contracts to sign and play for teams from other leagues if the contracts have opt-out clauses that allow the players to return to the NBA if the lockout ends. The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.

References