Former No. 1 overa;ll draft pick Dwight Howard left the Orlando Magic in a trade two seasons ago. Now he and the LA Lakers are headed for the playoffs, albeit it, without Kobe Bryant with his achilles heel injury. The Magic season is mercifully over with a mere 20 wins.ORLANDO -- While Dwight Howard leads the Los Angeles Lakers into the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Western Conference, his former team, the Orlando Magic, mercifully ends the season at 20-62, dead last among the 30 NBA teams.
But not all is lost: The Magic are now in the lottery with a chance for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. And the Magic are recipients of a community service award.
The Orlando Magic team was awarded with the Downtown Orlando Partnership 2012 "Award of Excellence" as part of the Golden Brick Awards for NBA All-Star Weekend. The Magic were recognized for their work with the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend at the Amway Center, serving as host to the February 2012 event.
The awards are given to projects which affected the Downtown Development District. The Golden Brick Awards recognize outstanding contributions to downtown that demonstrate excellence and achievement. For over two decades, these awards have been distributed for projects which affect the Downtown Development District.
"The 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend, the league's signature event, generated a nearly $100 million economic impact for Orlando," the team said in a press release, announcing the award earlier in the day on Thursday. "All-Star festivities provided exposure to Central Florida as the game and events reached fans through broadcast partners in 215 countries and territories in more than 44 languages; more than 1,800 media covered the events, including 336 international reporters with 150,000 guests filling up 30,000 hotel room nights breathing life into downtown Orlando and surrounding areas."