Vucevic earns weekly honor
Sunday night after
Nikola Vucevic put up 28 points on the New York Knicks, teammate Aaron
Gordon, acting as a fortune-teller, said it was about time Vooch started getting some recognition for the way he has been playing.
Little did he know he was predicting the future.
Vucevic, who scored 30, 36 and 28 points in the three games prior to Tuesday night’s loss to Toronto and fell one assist shy of a triple-double against the Knicks, was named the NBA Eastern Conference player of the week on Monday.
Gordon said Sunday night that Vucevic had been, “Ballin’. So let’s just keep winning and he’ll get the recognition … He’ll get that pub that he definitely deserves.”
It’s the second time Vucevic has earned the honor, winning it the first time in 2014. He led the Magic to wins over Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Lakers and New York last week during which he averaged 27.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, four assists and 1.25 steals per game.
Vucevic had three double-doubles and scored at least 28 points during three consecutive games, becoming the first Magic player since Dwight Howard accomplished the feat March 1-5, 2012.
“He played at an incredibly high level and the other part is, usually, unless your numbers are just outlandish, which his were, we have to win,” Magic coach
Steve Clifford said. “I think it’s like all individual awards. The individual is deserving, but it’s gonna come when the team results are good.”
Clifford said Vucevic’s teammates were quite happy for him and applauded him upon finding out about the honor Monday.
“It’s great and his teammates were happy and they clapped and stuff ... it was good,” Clifford said. “But again, when you play well as a group, and he’s been such a big part of it at both ends of the floor, that’s when guys will get individual accolades.”
Vooch was appreciative of his teammates’ reaction.
“It meant a lot. Having the respect from your teammates is very important in this league,” Vucevic said. “A lot of them were congratulating me yesterday when we came out and this morning before the shootaround. … Obviously they are a big of me getting the award. Basketball is a team game and the main reason I got the award was because we won those games. … I didn’t do it by myself. We won those games and my teammates helped me and put me in a position to play well.”
Giving back: Magic star Gordon, along with Amway Corporation and Magic staff members, will distribute 475 Thanksgiving meals to underserved families in the Central Florida area Wednesday between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Engelwood Neighborhood Center, 6123 La Costa Dr. in Orlando. The meals include a turkey and all the trimmings — including stuffing, turkey gravy, green beans and dessert. They will be donated to pre-selected underprivileged families from the Central Florida area.
The meals are being donated by Gordon, Amway and the Magic. Free haircuts will also be provided to the youth.
Magic representatives will also host their annual Thanksgiving day celebration. Orlando coach Clifford will sponsor the breakfast, during which more than 120 Magic staff members including Magic community ambassadors Nick
Anderson and Bo Outlaw and Magic dancers will serve to the 500-plus residents at the Coalition for the Homeless and the more than 100 unsheltered homeless individuals from the community.
This is the 26th year the Magic have hosted the breakfast.
Later in the morning, the Magic will also host a carnival for the families.