Orlando Magic (2012–2021)
On August 10, 2012, Vučević was traded to the Orlando Magic as a part of the blockbuster four-team deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers. On December 31, 2012, in an overtime loss to the Miami Heat, Vučević set a franchise record with 29 rebounds. On April 10, 2013, he recorded his second straight 20/20 game with a career-high 30 points and 20 rebounds in a 113–103 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
On November 6, 2013, Vučević recorded a career-high-tying 30 points and 21 rebounds in a 98–90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Vučević's strong play over the second half of the 2013–14 season was noticeable on March 28, 2014 when he dominated the Charlotte Bobcats. He overcame a slow start shooting the ball to finish the game with 24 points and 23 rebounds in an overtime victory. Vučević made nine of his last 11 shots to lead a Magic rally in the second half, while also grabbing 16 first-half rebounds and 10 offensive boards in the game, marking the sixth 20-point, 20-rebound game of his career. On 31 March, Vučević earned his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor, after he led the Magic to a 2–1 week. He logged a double-double average with 22.7 points (sixth in the conference) and a league-leading 14.3 rebounds. He posted a point–rebound double-double in all three contests. Vučević became the first Magic player to win the Eastern Player of the Week honors since Dwight Howard in 2012.
On October 23, 2014, Vučević signed a four-year, $53 million contract extension with the Magic. On April 3, 2015, he scored a career-high 37 points in a 97–84 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On November 11, 2015, Vučević didn't start for the Magic against the Los Angeles Lakers, returning to action after a three-game absence with a right knee contusion. Vučević, who had started all 223 games for the Magic over his four-season tenure, came off the bench for the first time and scored 18 points, including a fallaway 18-footer at the buzzer to lift the Magic over the Lakers 101–99. Vučević averaged 18.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his first 12 games of December (December, 1–23). Shaquille O'Neal is the only other Magic player to reach those numbers in one month in franchise history. On February 7, 2016, he scored 22 points and hit an 18-footer at the buzzer to lead the Magic over the Atlanta Hawks 96–94, winning for only the third time in 18 games in 2016. On 23 February, he scored a season-high 35 points in a 124–115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On 31 March, he returned to action after missing the previous 13 games with a right groin strain. He subsequently came off the bench for just the second in his Magic tenure, as he scored 24 points in a 114–94 win over the Indiana Pacers. He came off the bench for a further three games before returning to the starting line-up on 8 April against the Miami Heat, where he scored a game-high 29 points in a 112–109 win.
Vučević started in all 16 games for the Magic to start the 2016–17 season, coming off the bench for just the sixth time in his Magic tenure on November 27, 2016 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Vučević continued to come off the bench throughout December, while also missing three games between 10 and 14 December with a back injury. On December 20, he had a season-high 26 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in a 136–130 double overtime win over the Miami Heat. He regained his starting spot in mid-January, and as a result, he hit 13 of 18 shots, scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Magic to a 115–109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on 13 January. On February 7, 2017, he had 14 points and a season-high 19 rebounds in a 128–104 loss to the Houston Rockets. On March 11, 2017, in a 116–104 loss to Cleveland, Vučević had a team-high 20 points and 16 rebounds after missing the previous four games with a sore right Achilles. On April 10, 2017, he grabbed 10 rebounds against Chicago to move ahead of Shaquille O'Neal into second place in franchise history, trailing only Dwight Howard.
On October 20, 2017, Vučević scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 126–121 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. On December 9, 2017, he recorded his first career triple-double with game highs of 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 117–110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He became the first Magic center to record a triple-double with assists—Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard each accomplished it with blocks. On 23 December, he suffered a fractured left hand against the Washington Wizards and was subsequently ruled out for six to eight weeks. He returned to action on 22 February 2018, against the New York Knicks after missing 23 games, recording 19 points and six rebounds in a 120–113 loss. On 14 March, he recorded 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 126–117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
On October 20, 2018, Vučević recorded his second career triple-double with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a 116–115 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On 17 November, he had a season-high 36 points and 13 rebounds in a 130–117 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Eight days later, he had 31 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in a 108–104 win also against the Lakers. Prior to the second match-up against the Lakers, Lakers coach Luke Walton described Vučević as a "nightmare to matchup [sic] with" because of the versatility of his offensive game. Following the 108–104 win, Lakers forward LeBron James noted that "He's (Vučević) got our number this year. All you can say." On 19 November, Vučević was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, after leading the Magic to a 3–1 record. It was the first time a Magic player has won the award since 2014, when Vučević himself captured the award for the first time in his NBA career. He averaged 27.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 58.1 percent from the floor and 47 percent from 3-point range. During his stretch of strong play, Vučević became the first Magic player to post at least 28 points and 10 rebounds in three consecutive games since Dwight Howard. He also became the first Magic player to score 30 points in back-to-back games since Victor Oladipo in March 2015. On January 6, 2019, Vučević had 16 points and 24 rebounds in a 106–96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. On 31 January, he received his first All-Star selection in his eight-year career, earning Eastern Conference reserve honors for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game. He became the Magic's first All-Star since Howard in 2012. On 17 March, he scored 17 of his 27 points in the first eight minutes of the game and added 20 rebounds in a 101–91 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Vučević helped the Magic go 22–9 over the final 31 games of the season to clinch their first playoff berth since 2012. In game one of the Magic's first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors, Vučević scored 11 points in a 104–101 upset victory. They went on to lose to the Raptors in five games.
Vučević entered the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. On July 6, 2019, he signed a four-year, $100 million contract to remain with the Magic. On November 17, Vučević posted 30 points on 11 of 14 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three along with 17 rebounds and six assists in a 125–121 victory against the Washington Wizards, putting up season highs for points and rebounds while also logging his seventh consecutive double-double and his tenth overall on the season. In his efforts, Vučević set a franchise record for most 30-point, 15-rebound and five-assist games with four, surpassing Shaquille O'Neal with three. The following day, Vučević earned his third Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor, after logging a double-double average with 21.7 points, 14.0 rebounds to go along 4.0 assists and 1.33 blocks per game while shooting 54.2 percent overall and 66.7 percent from 3-point range. He led the Magic in scoring and rebounding and sparked its 3–0 record during the week with victories over the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Wizards.
Though largely credited to a balanced attack, Vučević played a key role in the hot start to the season by the Magic.
On February 5, 2021, Vučević scored a career-high 43 points, grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds and dished out 4 assists in a 123–119 win over the Chicago Bulls. He succeeded in two free throw shots with 2.6 seconds left to play, ending the Magic's fourth losing streak. In his efforts, Vučević joined Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard as the third player in franchise history to log at least 43 points and 19 rebounds in a game. On February 19, Vučević logged his third career triple-double with 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in a 124–120 win over the Golden State Warriors, becoming the second center (along with Nikola Jokić) to score a 30-point triple-double with zero turnovers since 1985. He also set a franchise record for the most triple-doubles for the center position. On 23 February, Vučević was named an Eastern Conference reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.
At the conclusion of Vučević's time with the Magic, he ranks at or near the top of a number of key categories in the Magic franchise history, including first in all-time field goals made (4,490), second in rebounds (6,381), third in blocks (550), third in points scored (10,423) and fourth in games played (591). He also led the franchise to end its six-year playoff drought and reach the postseason for two straight seasons.
