The2009–10Orlando Magic season was the 21st season of the franchise in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). The Magic were coming off of anNBA Finals defeat to theLos 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 Magic would replicate their previous season's performance and boasted the NBA's fourth highest offensive rating among all teams.^[1]

During the 2009 off-season, the Magic relinquishedHedo Türkoğlu and traded awayRafer Alston,Tony Battie, andCourtney Lee to acquire 8-timeNBA All-Star and 1999NBA Rookie of the YearVince Carter andRyan Anderson from theNew Jersey Nets.^[2] The inclusion of Carter, in conjunction with the emergence of rising starDwight 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 the2009 NBA Finals at the hands of theKobe Bryant-ledLos Angeles Lakers.^[3]

During the playoffs, the Magic swept theCharlotte Bobcats in four games in the First Round and swept theAtlanta 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 theBoston Celtics in six games.^[4] The Celtics would go on to lose to theLakers in theFinals in seven games in a rematch from2008 in which the Celtics won in six games. As of 2024, this was the last season the Magic won a playoff series.

• June 25 – The2009 NBA draft took place in New York City.
• July 8 – Thefree agency period started.
• October 28 – The Magic began the season with a game against thePhiladelphia 76ers.
• November 16 –Rashard Lewis made his season debut after serving a 10-game suspension for testing positive forDHEA, a banned substance.
• November 17 – It was announced thatJameer Nelson needed surgery after injuring his knee in the previous night's game.^[5]
• December 21 – Nelson returned from his injury.^[6]
• January 21 –Dwight Howard was named the starting center for the Eastern Conference in the2010 NBA All-Star Game.^[7]
• January 31 –Stan Van Gundy was named the coach of the East's all-stars in the2010 NBA All-Star Game.^[8]
• March 3 – The Magic clinched their third consecutive winning season with a win over theGolden State Warriors.
• March 16 – By virtue of theCharlotte Bobcats losing that night, the Magic clinched a playoff berth.^[9]
• April 6 – By virtue of theAtlanta 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 theNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive season.
• April 26 – The Magic won their first round series in theplayoffs by sweeping theCharlotte Bobcats. It was the first sweep of a 7-game series for the Magic in franchise history.^[10]
• May 10 – The Magic completed a sweep of theAtlanta 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 theBoston Celtics.

As a result of previous trades made by the Orlando Magic, they did not have any draft choices. However, the NBA still hadAdidas 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.

The Magic have been involved in the followingtransactions during the 2009–10 season.

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

• Dwight Howard –Defensive Player of the Year,^[20]All-NBA 1st Team,^[21]All-Defensive 1st Team,^[22]Rebounding Champion,Blocks Champion,Field goal percentage leader,All-Star^[23]
• Stan Van Gundy –All-Star East Head Coach^[24]

• October 27–November 1 –Dwight Howard^[25]
• December 14–20 – Dwight Howard^[26]
• February 15–21 – Dwight Howard^[27]
• April 5–11 – Dwight Howard^[28]

• October–November –Stan Van Gundy^[29]
• April – Stan Van Gundy^[30]

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.^[31]

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.^[32]

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.^[33]

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,^[5] but a report later in the week stated his teammates expected him to be gone for only 3 weeks.^[34] Ultimately, Nelson would return to action on December 21, five weeks to the day of his injury.^[6]

The Magic are affiliated with theReno Bighorns of theD-League.^[35] They replace theBakersfield Jam for the 2009–10 season.

• Orlando Magic seasons
• 2009–10 NBA season by team
• 2009 in sports in Florida
• 2010 in sports in Florida

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