Former Magic Player of the Month: Otis Smith

Otis Smith

I think we all know what happened to Otis Smith. But I think it's high time we had another Former Magic Player of the Month (formerly Week, and I have not done any in almost a year now).

Otis is of course our fearless leader and general manager. Smith literally constructed every piece of the current Magic roster and built the team that went to the NBA Finals last year. OK, he was just an assistant general manager when Jon Weisbrod drafted Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, but we all tend to forget the Weisbrod year.

So clearly Smith has been doing a lot of fun stuff since leaving the Magic as a player after three seasons.

Otis was, of course, selected in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft with the 41st overall pick by the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 8.8 points per game in just more than two seasons with the Nuggets before being traded to Golden State.

Smith was then selected by the Magic in the expansion draft and played the final three years of his career in Orlando. With the Magic, Smith averaged 11.4 points per game inlcuding a career-high 13.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in the 1990-91 season.

He is probably most famous as a player for his game-winning basket in a 110-109 victory over the Bulls in the Magic's inaugural season.

After his playing days he moved into the front office for the Warriors before moving back to Orlando as a community ambassador. He was named the general manager after Weisbrod's departure and was given the full role. He has been the general manager ever since, helping build a Magic team that has won three straight Southeast Division titles and an Eastern Conference Championship.

Image courtesy of jacksonville.com.