This trend actually began toward the tail end of the previous decade, but it wasn’t Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns who started it. Yes, those Suns were the pioneers of the kind of pace-and-space basketball the league is now watching proliferate, but their Achilles heel was on defense. From 2004–2008, the Suns’ defense hovered around the league average. Their best ranking was 13th in the 2007-08 season.

That same campaign, though, did see a team begin to crack the 3-and-D team code. (Note: This came a few seasons after Jim O’Brien’s Boston Celtics were a one-year curiosity in this vein, with Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce combining to shoot 31 percent on nearly 1,000 3s between the two of them. That C’s team had the sixth-worst Offensive Rating in the league.)

It was Stan Van Gundy’s Orlando Magic.

2007–08: 52–30, 3PA (2nd), DRtg (6th)

Lost in East Semifinals (1–4) vs. Detroit Pistons

The irony is that the Magic’s evolution happened by accident. Literally. Before training camp began, Tony Battie (the projected starting power forward) tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder while playing against Dwight Howard in a pickup game. As a result, Battie underwent season-ending surgery and Van Gundy was forced to start Rashard Lewis — a small forward with the Seattle SuperSonics (R.I.P.) and Orlando’s marquee free agent signing that offseason — at power forward. The rationale was that Lewis would help spread the floor and create space for Howard to operate in the post.

Shortly after the season began, the Magic then traded an athletic defender who couldn’t shoot 3s to the Los Angeles Lakers for one that could in Maurice Evans, along with Brian Cook, another power forward who could play on the perimeter. (The player the Magic traded? It was Trevor Ariza, who has gone on to become a premium 3-and-D player.)

The signing of Mo Evans helped morph the Magic into a 3-and-D team. (AP)

With Evans in the 3-and-D role and Lewis playing as a stretch 4, the Magic’s identity began to crystallize. They had a superstar in Howard, a pair of playmakers in Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson, and lots of shooters, with two of them being designated 3-and-D players (Evans and Keith Bogans).

The Magic blitzed the NBA with their aerial assault (and Howard cleaning up inside) while bunkering down defensively. It was a unique strategy and something the league hadn’t seen much before, but it was extremely effective.

Despite getting bullied by the imposing Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semis and losing in five games, that didn’t stop the Magic from fully embracing their identity as a 3-and-D team over the next several years.

2008–09: 59–23, 3PA (2nd), DRtg (1st)

Lost in Finals (1–4) vs. Los Angeles Lakers

In the summer of 2008, the Magic drafted Courtney Lee with their first-round pick. They also signed the zany Mickael Pietrus in free agency to replace Evans, who signed with the Hawks as an unrestricted free agent that offseason.

With a new batch of 3-and-D players to go along with the same core of Nelson-Turkoglu-Lewis-Howard, the Magic had arguably their best season in franchise history. Most notably, they were one of the few teams to beat LeBron at the apex of his powers (LeBron’s 31.7 regular season PER and 37.4 playoff PER that season remain career-bests). And it was Pietrus, Orlando’s key offseason acquisition, who was the unsung hero in their conference finals matchup against the Cavs.

In spite of LeBron posting an obscene stat line in the series (38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in six games), Pietrus made him earn it. Pietrus also made a series-high 17 3-pointers, helping the Magic bury the Cavs under an avalanche of threes.

At a micro level, Pietrus’ 3-and-D performance validated the Magic’s macro strategy. Regardless of losing to the Lakers in a competitive Finals series, they got to the Finals as a 3-and-D team. Their grand design worked.

2009–10: 59–23, 3PA (1st), DRtg (3rd)

Lost in the Conference Finals (2–4) vs. Boston Celtics

Having been so close to winning a title, the Magic went all-in prior to the start of the 2009–10 season. They traded Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, and Courtney Lee for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. Although they lost a 3-and-D player in Lee, they replaced him by signing Matt Barnes in free agency to complement Pietrus. (Orlando also matched the Mavericks’ offer sheet for Marcin Gortat, which was for the full mid-level exception, and signed unrestricted free agents Brandon Bass and Jason Williams, too.)

With arguably the most talented roster in franchise history, the Magic steamrolled through the playoffs — sweeping the then-Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks — before running into a team that matched up perfectly with them: the Boston Celtics.

Not only did Boston beat Orlando in the conference finals, but the C’s did it convincingly. Boston won the first two games on the road, and the series was all but over before it began. The Magic tried to become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–0 series deficit, but they finally succumbed in Game 6.

That series loss set into motion the Magic’s slow descent into irrelevance, where they went from being a championship contender to a bottom-feeder in a span of three seasons. Still, they were a genuine trendsetter. Here’s the list of teams in NBA history with more than 2,000 3-point attempts and a top 10 Defensive Rating in the regular season (per ESPN.com’s Kevin Pelton):

2002–03 Celtics

2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11 Magic

2013–14 and 2014–15 Warriors

2014–15 Rockets

2014–15 Hawks

2014–15 Trail Blazers

Because the Magic of the SVG-Dwight era didn’t win a title, they’ll be nothing more than a historical footnote, but their legacy will quietly live on. Orlando showed that it’s possible to win as a 3-and-D team, and this season’s Warriors, Cavaliers, Hawks, and Rockets have proven that. And whichever of Golden State or Cleveland wins in the Finals, the Magic’s vision will finally be validated with an NBA championship.