The Orlando Magic basketball season tips off Wednesday night, but Kia Center was already filled with thousands of cheering, screaming fans Monday morning as Orange County Public Schools students packed into the team’s arena for a reading event hosted by the team’s players.
“Stay in school. Continue to read so y’all can reach y’all’s dreams,” Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. said to the fourth and fifth graders in attendance.
About 3,400 students from nearly 50 OCPS elementary schools serving low-income communities attended the event. The younger students watched as older ones — the most-improved readers from the previous year — participated in games such as rock paper scissors and relay races with Magic players to celebrate their achievements.
More than 150 fifth graders wearing shirts featuring team mascot Stuff the Magic Dragon circled the court as Magic players raced to make free throws. The players and students were split into two teams, and each shot made by Magic players earned their team a letter as they raced to spell “Go Magic.”
The students also competed in a rock paper scissors tournament against the players. A fifth-grader named Roderick emerged victorious, defeating the entire Magic roster. He high-fived Magic forward Franz Wagner and a few classmates before heading back to his seat.
Students dance during the annual Pick, Read and Roll event hosted by the Orlando Magic and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), at Kia Center, on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
The schools’ teachers also participated in a competition where students cheered loudest for the best dancer — pushing the decibel level inside Kia Center to levels only heard during Magic playoff games.
“You guys ready to go back to school yet?” said DJ D-Strong, the event’s master of ceremonies.
“No!” they screamed back.
The “Pick, Read and Roll” event, which dates back to 2019, serves as an annual incentive for fourth-grade students to improve their reading skills.
Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez said reading scores rose 30% more among schools that attended the event compared to those that didn’t.
At the event, Vazquez said the students always tell her how much they look up to the players, and how they make them want to read.
“The impact the Magic players have in the lives of our children, I mean, they’re their heroes,” she said.
Jonathan Isaac plays rock paper scissors with a student during the annual Pick, Read and Roll event hosted by the Orlando Magic and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), at Kia Center, on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
All 14 players on the Magic roster participated in the games with students.
Carter said the event underscores the importance of education and the fact that kids look up to NBA players, adding that his mother always said you never make it in life until you help someone move up as well.
“I love it. These kids will remember this for the rest of their lives,” Carter said.