As if the multiple all-star accolades weren't enough, the Orlando Magic now have one of their dancers appearing in the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated.
SI features NBA dancers in the 2009 edition and Deanna Clover was one of 10 dancers selected from around the league. Deanna is in her 5th season with the team and is currently the team captain.
I spoke with dancer manager Jeanine Thomas at last night's Magic/Nuggets game and she was extremely excited and proud of Deanna's accomplishment. She mentioned that Deanna had known about the SI appearance since last March but in order to seal the deal, she needed to make the 2008-2009 Magic dance team (veteran Magic dancers must re-audition each season). SI was only accepting dancers who were on NBA dance squads at the time of publication. So, Deanna had extra incentive to make the cut again this season.
Deanna Clover was one of two dancers to appear at the "Magic Message Board Night" that the team hosted last January for a game against the Bulls. She took her time to speak with the Magic fans in attendance, posed for photos, and did an all-around great job of representing the team. On top of all that, she is a great dancer and obviously has many pleasing asthetic qualities.
Here is the link to her SI Swimsuit photo gallery:
*Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
