A funny man on a serious mission
Evan Fournier aims to lead the Magic out of its bottom-tier rep.
Humor has its place in sports, even on a long-suffering team, and few Orlando Magic players enjoy kidding around on Twitter as much as Evan Fournier does. It’s fitting, then, that Fournier produced one of the funniest moments of the Magic’s first week of training camp. On Monday, Fournier posted photos of himself from media day, including a closeup of his scalp and his suddenly rejuvenated hairline.
Underneath the pictures, Fournier wrote, “@KingJames hit me up bro.” It was a reference to how LeBron James, a person Fournier respects, has added more hair recently in thinning areas. Fournier meant the tweet as a joke about himself.
But there is a marked difference between having a few good-natured laughs on social media and the way Fournier is approaching this season. Fournier is insisting Magic players are driven to improve and impatient to shed their reputation as NBA doormats.
“We’re starving, myself included,” Fournier said. “[We’re] so eager to see the playoffs, win, just be competitive. It’s not fun when you wake up in the morning and you see on the standings that you’re in the last five positions.”
Fournier, a swingman, has reason for his urgency. He knows the difference between competing for playoff spots and slogging year after year toward an early lottery pick. During his rookie season, the team that drafted him, the Denver Nuggets, won 57 games and earned a playoff berth. Over Fournier’s last four seasons, all in Orlando, the Magic have never won more than 35 games.
Fournier did well for himself while his team struggled. He’s ranked among Orlando’s scoring leaders every year. In 2016, the team rewarded him by re-signing him to a five-year contract worth $17 million per season.
But the Magic’s past few seasons have hurt him. Hidden behind his occasionally comedic social-media persona is a fierce competitiveness and toughness. Fournier inherited his grit from his mom and dad, who were accomplished martial artists in judo.
Fournier said his mom dislocated her fingers three times during her judo career while his dad suffered four finger dislocations and typically continued to grapple despite the injuries.
Fournier’s previous Magic coaches — Jacque Vaughn, James Borrego, Scott Skiles and Frank Vogel — always praised Fournier for his professionalism and spirit. But Fournier, 25, sees room in himself to grow. Asked to name on-court areas where he can improve, he spoke of wanting to become a better leader.
“I feel like it’s my time to be that guy,” Fournier said. “[It’s my] seventh year here in the NBA, fifth as a Magic. I’ve been around a lot of coaches. I feel like I have more and more experience now and that’s just my next step.
“I just feel like it’s a part of my growth. It’s not necessarily something that I really have to focus on. It’s just I think for me now, as I continue to get better, I have to be more of a leader — not necessarily say things out loud all the time. It’s just [important to] do the little things perfect. Perfection every day. Run more. Do the right thing all the time. Show up early, super early. When I see something [that needs to be corrected], just say it. Ask the coach questions. Just all the little stuff that makes a huge difference on the long run.”
New coach Steve Clifford regards Fournier as a crucial contributor and added Fournier has followed through on all of his leadership goals so far. Clifford said Fournier participated in all eight of the Magic’s voluntary September workouts at Amway Center.
“He’s been locked into everything,” Clifford said. “I couldn’t say enough [praise] about him: the way he’s worked, his approach. He’s talented. He’s a very, very good player.”