In a results-obsessed sports world where legacy is often defined by banners, rings and winning percentages, Alex Martins departs as CEO of the Orlando Magic with something far more layered — and, perhaps, even more meaningful — than a championship trophy:
Compassion, consistency and a commitment to something bigger than basketball.
Martins, the Orlando Sentinel has learned, is stepping down from the role he’s held with the Magic for the past 14 years, transitioning into a newly created position of vice chair at a time when team ownership begins ushering in the next generation of DeVos family leadership.
With Martins no longer running the day-to-day operations of the franchise, Ryan DeVos and Charlie Freeman step into larger leadership roles. Freeman, the new President of Business Operations, is entering his 30th season with the Magic and will become the franchise’s chief financial architect.
But make no mistake about it, this is also a move to further groom Ryan DeVos, the grandson of late owner Rich DeVos, as the head of the ownership group someday. He now moves into a new role as managing director, working closely with Freeman, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman and the Magic Board of Directors. Meanwhile, another Rich DeVos grandson, Cole DeVos, will relocate to Orlando at the beginning of the 2025-26 season to become a part of the management team as well.
“This is an opportunity for the third-generation of the DeVos family to get more involved in the organization and to start getting closer to day-to-day decision-making,” Martins says.
2008: Magic COO Alex Martins waves as the Orlando Magic have a thank you rally for their fans in front of the Orlando City Hall on May 16, 2008. They gave out milk, juice, water and doughnuts to commuters. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
2007: Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith, center, introduces Stan Van Gundy, right as their new head coach at the RDV Sportsplex in Maitland on June 7, 2007. Magic President Bob Vander Weide, far left, and Chief Operating Officer, Alex Martins, center left, look on from the side. (Sentinel file)
2008: Coach Stan Van Gundy, COO Alex Martins, President Bob Vander Weide, point guard Jameer Nelson and General Manager Otis Smith congratulate each other as top elected officials, business and community leaders gather for the groundbreaking of the Orlando Events Center project, on Church Street at Division Street on July 25, 2008. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
2009: Orlando Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins, along with other city and community leaders, signs the final steel beam during the Topping Off Ceremony for Amway Center on Nov. 5, 2009. The milestone was commemorated with the placement of the final two beams, signed by Magic players and staff, city employees, construction workers and fans. The 875,000 square foot Amway Center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) 1
2010: Standing in center court of the new Orlando Events Center, Magic COO Alex Martins describes the layout of the Orlando Magic arena. The new events center is scheduled to be open in fall 2010. (Sentinel file)
2010: Orlando Magic President Alex Martins and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer meet up along with fourth and fifth grade students from Nap Ford Community School to test out the plumbing at the new Amway Center by flushing approximately 443 toilets simultaneously in Orlando on Sept. 8, 2010. (Sentinel file)
2010: Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer, left, and Orlando Magic president Alex Martins get ready to cut the ribbon at the ceremony at the new Amway Center on Oct. 1, 2010.(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
2011: Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, center, and Orlando Magic President Alex Martins, right, share a laugh as they prepare to serve food during a Thanksgiving breakfast served at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida in Orlando on Nov. 24, 2011. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)
2012: Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins announces the firing of head coach Stan Van Gundy, and the departure of general manager Otis Smith, during a press conference at the Amway Center in Orlando on May 21, 2012. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
2012: Jacque Vaughn, the new head coach of the Orlando Magic, with Magic CEO Alex Martins, left, during his introduction news conference at the Amway Center on July 30, 2012. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
2013: Former Orlando Magic star Tracy McGrady shakes hands with Alex Martins as he is honored during first half action of a season home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans at Amway Center in Orlando on Nov. 01, 2013. (Sentinel file)
2013: Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins honors Magic founder Jimmy Hewitt, left, during a timeout as the Magic play host to the San Antonio Spurs at the Amway Center in Orlando on Nov. 29, 2013. (Sentinel file)
2014: Former Orlando Magic player Horace Grant, right, shakes hands with Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins, left, before Grant is recognized between periods during the game against the Charlotte Bobcats at the Amway Center in Orlando on Jan. 17, 2014. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2015: Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan, left, and CEO Alex Martins listen during a news conference to announce the firing of Orlando Magic Head Coach Jacque Vaughn on Feb. 5, 2015 in Orlando, Fla. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2016: Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins answers questions about Coach Scott Skiles’ resignation during a press conference on May 12, 2016, at Amway Center. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
2016: Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka and Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins, also chair of the OneOrlando Fund oversight board, are photographed Oct. 11, 2016 on the “Love Bridge” at the Orlando Science Center. (Sentinel file)
2017: Orlando Magic founding father Jimmy Hewitt, left, laughs with Magic CEO Alex Martins, right, during Hewitt’s Magic Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Amway Center on March 29, 2017. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2017: Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, left, shares a light moment with Magic CEO Alex Martins, right, before the Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic NBA game at the Amway Center on April 12, 2017. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2020: Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins, left, speaks as Magic head coach Steve Clifford listens during a news conference at the Amway Center on March 12, 2020 in Orlando. The NBA has suspended its season “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league’s owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas. The vast majority of people recover from the new coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, most people recover in about two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the illness. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2021: From left, Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins; head coach Jamahl Mosley; President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, and Vice President of Ownership Engagement Ryan DeVos watch as the final beam in the construction of the AdventHealth Training Center is hoisted into place during a topping-off ceremony on July 21, 2021. The $70 million center features 130,000 square-feet of combined training and sports-medicine facilities in a partnership between the DeVos family, team owners, the Orlando Magic and AdventHealth. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
2023: Shaquille O’Neal speaks as Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins laughs during a press conference before Shaq’s Orlando Magic jersey is retired before the Oklahoma City Thunder at Orlando Magic NBA game at the Kia Center in Orlando on Feb. 13, 2023. O’Neal, who played for the Magic early in his professional career, is the first Orlando Magic player to have his jersey retired. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2023: Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins speaks before the Magic volunteers serve Thanksgiving Breakfast at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, on Nov. 23, 2023. This is the 31st year the Magic have hosted the breakfast. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)
2025: Former Orlando center Dwight Howard is honored as an inductee into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame at halfcourt during the Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic NBA game at the Kia Center in Orlando on March 24, 2025. From left are: Magic Chairman Dan DeVos, Magic CEO Alex Martins, Dwight Howard, Dick DeVos and Betsy DeVos. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
2025: Dwight Howard hugs Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins as Dwight is inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the Kia Center in Orlando on March 24, 2025. Howard is the 13th inductee into the team’s hall of fame. He played for the Magic from 2004-2012. Howard is the Orlando Magic’s all-time leader in points scored (11,435), rebounds (8,072), blocked shots (1,344), free throws made (3,366), free throws attempted (5,727) and minutes played (22,471). (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
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2008: Magic COO Alex Martins waves as the Orlando Magic have a thank you rally for their fans in front of the Orlando City Hall on May 16, 2008. They gave out milk, juice, water and doughnuts to commuters. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
This has all been part of the plan since Martins, 61, approached ownership two years ago, telling the DeVos family that he wanted to step down from the grind of being the franchise’s CEO. For Martins, it’s a graceful exit but it’s not a farewell. In a way, it’s him doing what he’s always done best: working behind the scenes, helping shape the future of the Magic — and Orlando.
For some, Martin’s legacy will prompt assessments of playoff droughts and lottery purgatory, and that’s fine and fair. That’s sports. But to define Alex Martins by the Magic’s win-loss record is to fundamentally misunderstand the impact he’s had — not just on a franchise, but on a city.
Martins officially became CEO of the Magic in December 2011, but his story began much earlier. First hired by the Magic in 1989, he worked his way up through the ranks, becoming the rare executive whose fingerprints could be found on virtually every aspect of the franchise: media, operations, partnerships, philanthropy and civic engagement. When he was finally elevated to the top job, it wasn’t just a promotion. It was a baptism by fire.
The Magic, once the toast of the league with a young Dwight Howard and an NBA Finals appearance in 2009, were imploding. Bob Vander Weide, then team president and son-in-law to Rich DeVos, was on the outs — the casualty of a divorce from the owner’s daughter and a franchise in turmoil.
That left Martins to clean up a mess, with a franchise superstar publicly asking for a trade, a beloved and respected coach (Stan Van Gundy) about to be awkwardly fired, and a fanbase watching their dreams collapse in real time.
Martins didn’t always make the right calls. He hired Rob Hennigan, the youngest GM in league history, to lead the rebuild — a gamble that ended in a half-decade of basketball irrelevance. The Magic cycled through coaches, rosters and regimes, trying to recapture the glory of the Shaq-Penny and Dwight eras. And through it all, the playoffs became less a destination and more a rumor.
With only three winning seasons and no playoff series victories in 14 seasons, there’s no denying Martins presided over one of the least successful on-court periods in franchise history. However, he also replaced Henningan with highly respected team president Weltman, whose drafting acumen seemingly has the franchise set up for success for years to come.
If you ask me, Martins’ greatest impact was within the community. He was the driving force behind the public-private partnership that got the Kia Center built. It was a political and financial high-wire act, requiring delicate negotiations between the Magic, the city of Orlando and Orange County. Martins pulled it off, and in doing so, changed the landscape of downtown Orlando.
He and Weltman oversaw the design and construction of the Magic’s AdventHealth Training Center — a $70 million investment in a distressed downtown neighborhood that is considered the most cutting-edge practice and training facility in the NBA.
It’s never been just about basketball. Martins made sure of that. He often hearkens back to the words of Rich DeVos, who said when he bought the organization 35 years ago: “Don’t call us the owners of the franchise; call us the caretakers of the franchise. The real stakeholders of this team are the fans and community.”
Says Martins: “Mr. DeVos passed that philosophy on to all of us. He felt it was our obligation to be strong leaders and pillars within the community.”
Martins chaired the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation, helping to distribute more than $30 million in grants to more than 500 local nonprofits. Those efforts touch an estimated 100,000 children annually. That’s not just a number. That’s the soul of a franchise.
Martins was called upon by Mayor Buddy Dyer to lead the OneOrlando Fund in the wake of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub. It was a solemn assignment in a moment of citywide grief. Martins helped raise tens of millions of dollars for victims, families and survivors of the tragedy.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped engineer the NBA’s “bubble” at Walt Disney World — a logistical marvel that allowed the league to resume play safely while avoiding mass outbreaks. The NBA bubble not only worked, it became a global model.
Martins also has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at UCF, where he worked behind the scenes to help secure the university’s place in the Big 12, catapulting the Knights into a new era of national prominence. He was just re-elected to a third term as the board chairman.
And while the Magic’s on-court product sputtered at times, the Magic’s business side thrived under Martins. Even during the lean years, Magic fans continued to buy tickets at an impressive rate. Martins led a comprehensive overhaul of the team’s business operations, growing ticket sales, sponsorships and media value to historic levels. In March 2024, Sports Business Journal named the Magic one of the Best Places To Work in Sports — the only franchise in the NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL to earn that distinction. That doesn’t happen by accident. That happens when a culture is built with intention.
“It starts with our staff,” Martins says. “I’ll put our staff up against any in professional sports.”
Yes, it’s easy to view executives through a single lens: Did your team win? But in professional sports, especially in markets like Orlando, the reality is more nuanced: Did you grow the franchise? Did you elevate the city? Did you serve the community when it needed you most?
Martins checks all those boxes.
He’s been an ambassador, a negotiator, a fundraiser, a visionary, a steward and — when the DeVos family needed him to be — a shield from public criticism.
When you build arenas, uplift nonprofits, shepherd a franchise through economic, civic, and cultural milestones, the scoreboard may not always tell your story.
In a city defined by growth, few have grown with Orlando — or given more to it — than Alex Martins.
No parades.
No confetti.
No rings.
Just impact.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen
Originally Published: June 25, 2025 at 6:00 AM EDT