"How's that?" Smith said. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle-bell rock."

Then, off went the hat. Smith is big-hearted -- he and his players were preparing to host 25 needy families for Christmas dinner Friday -- but he isn't big on fanfare. Never has been. Even in a hallway.

So it doesn't bother the man with a most common name that his team -- despite a 20-6 record ---has been curiously overlooked.

"I like the fact we go about doing our business," Smith said. "It may not be flashy, it may not be cute. We may not have a whole bunch of name brands, but we're going to try to do it right every time."

Like Smith, the Magic's other front-office personalities aren't into frills. A throwback who can do without pregame light shows and neckties, Coach Stan Van Gundy simply lives for each possession. And de facto owner Bob Vander Weide lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., hardly a place to become a Mark Cuban-in-training.

"Most of our guys are kind of unsung. You can probably throw me in there, you can probably throw Stan in there, you can throw most of our players in there. We're just dirt-workers," Smith said.

When contenders are being sized up in the NBA, the Magic dirt-workers are not on the tip of tongues, even though they top the Southeast Division and Dwight Howard leads all players in all-star voting.

If it were a concert instead of a game, the Magic would be the warm-up act tonight at Amway Arena for Kobe Bryant and the Los Angles Lakers, who are long used to such top billing.

"I think what is going on, under the radar, is the job that Stan Van Gundy is doing," said ESPN analyst Mark Jackson, a former NBA guard. "Overall, that is a dangerous team.

"If I were the Celtics or the Cavs, I would certainly not look forward to facing an Orlando team with Dwight Howard manning the middle come playoff time."

Several factors might account for the rising Magic not just flying under the radar but seldom being picked up by NBA controllers.

The Magic are trying to join the elite club of contenders but are still filling out applications.

Last season was their best year since Shaquille O'Neal left -- 12 years ago. They largely had been missing from the national scene until winning 52 games and advancing past the first round.

"We haven't had consistency," Smith said. "We had some success last season -- some. You have to establish yourself as a certain type of organization like San Antonio's. We're not there yet."

But even the Spurs -- recent champions -- are out of the spotlight's glare in San Antonio.

Orlando is similarly off-Broadway.

"In general, it's what happens in the smaller markets," Van Gundy said. "L.A. and Boston -- good teams, big markets. Portland, Orlando, Indiana, San Antonio, Utah have had successful teams over the years, but they're certainly not the most-hyped teams."

A former Laker, forward Brian Cook says he's surprised the Magic aren't drawing more attention but adds, "Hollywood is Hollywood. This is Orlando. We're trying to win here just as well."

Van Gundy says "latching onto a real high-profile guy like LeBron might trump" market size and franchise histories.

It's no coincidence the Magic's rise is related to Howard's ascent as a superstar. He is slowly pushing them into the bright lights, too. Orlando is on national television 11 times this season, including a Christmas Day game against New Orleans.

But this is the first season that Howard has truly let his personality show. The rest of the G-rated Magic reveals players who've struggled for acceptance and adulation. Rashard Lewis played nine years in Ray Allen's shadow. Jameer Nelson always has been judged as too small. And last season Hedo Turkoglu won the most-improved-player award -- after eight seasons.

The Magic say they can feel the neglect nationally -- and it Spurs them.

"We keep feeding off of flying under the radar just so we can prove a point," Lewis said. "It feeds our fire. Keep pouring gasoline on the fire, it's going to keep flaming up."

Fresh off a win over San Antonio, the Magic might improve their profile by beating the Lakers and the Hornets. Howard isn't so sure.

"Everybody thinks about Disney World when they think about the Orlando Magic . It's about coming here to take kids to see Mickey Mouse -- even when we're winning. Winning the championship might do it," he said.

"Then maybe we'd be bigger than Wet and Wild."