1. He shot a career-best 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and took much more ownership on defense. The passing of 92-year-old Orlando Magic owner and philanthropist Rich DeVos was met with much sadness within the entire organization Thursday, which should come as no surprise to anyone who ever came in contact with the man they called the “Magic’s biggest cheerleader.”, “He loved his family most, but second to his family only was the Orlando Magic,” said Magic CEO Alex Martins, who spoke with a heavy heart to media members at Amway Center on Thursday. DeVos most recently held the title of senior chairman of the Magic, and his son, Dan, served as the team’s chairman and representative on the NBA Board of Governors. DeVos and Van Andel each attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, they returned to Michigan and made several attempts at starting businesses, including a flight school and air service, though neither was a pilot. Individual distributors sold the goods through personal relationships and their own networks of salespersons, who in turn recruited additional distributors.

As the fun part of summer wears off and players start to really get down to work, you can tell already how much this motivates Gordon.

The offseason for the entire league has not quite started yet and the 2020 season is still so far away.

It will also come as no surprise to many that DeVos had planned for this day even long before his health had started to decline. Can Sam Ings or Aretha Simons topple him? “Rich and my father built this company from the ground up, and in many ways, Rich was the heart and soul of Amway,” Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel said in the statement. He has taken ownership of the team. He wants more of it and the expectations and standard of play, as he calls it, is certainly different. Yes, the NBA team is not owned by one person but by a corporation. Guided Amway’s 3 million distributors who sell 450 products, Started company in 1959, survived pyramid scheme charge, Photographer: Rex Larsen/The Grand Rapids Press via AP Photo, Photographer: Li Wei/The New York Times via Redux. You can tell by the interview Gordon is ready to go to bat for his team. “Mr.

Both are certainly worthy for consideration for the award. And you can still feel the excitement and giddiness Gordon had about making the playoffs. It cleared the company of being an illegal pyramid scheme, one in which early investors profit from the entry fees of later investors. “Dan DeVos has been our chairman now for seven years,” Martins said. No one even comes close to Rich in the love he inspired in the hearts and minds of our family of employees and business owners. He had homes in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Lantana, Florida. Under DeVos, the Magic made the playoffs 14 times through the 2015-2016 season. And Jonathan Isaac is probably still recovering from having his wisdom teeth taken out. We will miss him terribly.”. “A piece of the basketball floor will have his initials on [it] during the course of the entire season. Martins, with emotion in his voice, said DeVos had actually somewhat absolved himself of any ownership ties to the franchise during the past few years, positioning several family members to start working toward the future, without him. He bought the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic in September 1991, two years after the franchise was established. Have a confidential tip for our reporters? Gordon had a strong season for the Magic last year, even if his scoring took a bit of a dip. The Orlando Magic’s players will get back to work on their own time. Especially after the award finalists were released. Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on Orlando Magic and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. They began selling a liquid cleaner, then expanded to offer vitamins, personal care and other household products.

“In recent years, the league transitioned the governorship of the team from [Rich] DeVos to Dan, and as a matter of fact we have grandchildren working in the organization, so this is something that the entire family embraces and I would envision that they would continue to be the stewards of this franchise for a long time.”. Technically, the corporation was set up specifically to purchase the Orlando Magic. He went to Twitter to voice his displeasure: Crazy how coach cliff wasn’t in the conversation for coach of the year, Also T Ross should be talked about for 6th man. He might still be.

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Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Buddy Dyer is seeking a 5th full term as mayor. IN MEMORIAM: Rich DeVos Rich DeVos, who served as senior chairman of the ownership group of the Orlando Magic, passed away on September 6, 2018. We'll never pass along your email address to spammers, scammers, or the like. He bought the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic in September 1991, two years after the franchise was established. Powered by Minute Media © 2020 All Rights Reserved. “There’s no better company in the country to make the case for free enterprise,” he told a meeting of 5,000 sales representatives in Boston, according to Forbes. Many pegged Aaron Gordon as the Orlando Magic's next star. Gordon explained it a little bit more when he joined The Starters on NBATV on Tuesday. Before that, he was going to bat to represent his team and demand the Magic get the respect they deserve.