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No Magic Act: Orlando an Instant ContenderThe Orlando Magic joined the NBA for the 1989-90 season. The franchise had only a brief period of adjustment before establishing itself as a contender. With the drafting of center Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, the Magic became instantly competitive and one of the league's most popular teams. Nearly four years before the team sank its first basket, local developer and banker Jim Hewitt began promoting the idea of an NBA franchise in Orlando. He lured then Philadelphia 76ers General Manager Pat Williams to Florida. Williams went to work selling Orlando Magic T-shirts, caps, and other merchandise and persuaded locals to make $100 deposits on season-ticket reservations.
All of this was done to impress the NBA with a show of support from central Florida hoops fans. On July 2, 1986, Hewitt's group was one of five that each put up $100,000 to be considered for a potential NBA expansion team. The payoff came nearly a year later, on April 22, 1987, when the NBA Board of Governors voted to add four new franchises: Charlotte and Miami for the 1988-89 season, and Orlando and Minnesota for 1989-90. The price of admission was $32.5 million per team.
1989-90: Former Sixers Lead MagicWilliams hired Matt Guokas as the team's first head coach. Guokas had played in the NBA from 1966 to 1976, suiting up for six different teams. He played his longest stint, 4 1/2 seasons, with the Philadelphia 76ers at the start of his career. As a rookie he was a reserve guard on the Sixers' 1967 NBA championship team. After retiring, Guokas served as a broadcaster for the Sixers and then became an assistant to Coach Billy Cunningham (he was at Cunningham's side when Philadelphia won the NBA title in 1983). When Cunningham stepped down after the 1984-85 season, Guokas became the Sixers' head coach. He served 2 1/2 seasons in that capacity before being replaced by Jim Lynam midway through the 1987-88 campaign. The Magic selected 12 players in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft, including Reggie Theus, Scott Skiles, Terry Catledge, Sam Vincent, Otis Smith, and Jerry Reynolds. Then, in the NBA Draft, Orlando selected University of Illinois guard-forward Nick Anderson with the 11th overall pick.
The club's inaugural season started on a positive note before taking a more typical expansion-team downswing. The Magic began play on November 4, 1989, before a sellout crowd at the Orlando Arena. The debut lineup consisted of Terry Catledge, Jerry Reynolds, Dave Corzine, Reggie Theus, and Sam Vincent. Orlando lost to the New Jersey Nets, 111-106, despite a strong performance from Catledge, a fifth-year forward who produced the first double-double in team history with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Two nights later the Magic chalked up the first victory in team history by defeating the New York Knicks, 118-110, behind a 24-point contribution from Theus. Two nights after that the team had its first winning streak and a winning record (2-1) after a 117-110 victory against the Cavaliers at Cleveland. Orlando went 7-7 in its first month, the best start ever by an expansion team.
The team's fortunes took a more predictable turn after its initial success, and the Magic struggled to an 11-57 mark over the rest of the season. Despite faltering as a team, several Magic players turned in standout individual performances. Catledge scored 49 points against the Golden State Warriors. Vincent recorded the first triple-double in team history when he tallied 21 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds in a victory over the Indiana Pacers. Theus, his 12-year career nearing its conclusion, hit 50 consecutive free throws in January. Michael Ansley pulled down 13 offensive rebounds in a February 1 game against the Bucks at Milwaukee, setting an Orlando record and an NBA high that season. The Magic were one of the league's most prolific offensive teams in 1989-90, scoring 110.9 points per game to rank fifth overall. However, Orlando was the league's worst club defensively, allowing opponents 119.8 points per game. It all added up to a first-year record of 18-64. The Minnesota Timberwolves, the other expansion team to begin play in 1989-90, finished at 22-60. Orlando notched three of its victories against the New Jersey Nets, who finished with a league-worst 17-65 record.
None of this mattered to Orlando fans, who were happy just to be witnesses to the NBA spectacle. The Magic had 33 consecutive sellouts at home, playing to an average of 15,060 fans. Terry Catledge (19.4 ppg) and Reggie Theus (18.9) were the team's leading scorers for the season. Five other players-Sam Vincent, Jerry Reynolds, Nick Anderson, Otis Smith, and Sidney Green-also averaged in double figures. Green was the top rebounder with 8.1 boards per game, followed by Catledge with 7.6.
1990-92: Great Scott! Orlando Acquires A Deadly MarksmanWith the fourth selection in the 1990 NBA Draft, Orlando selected sharpshooter Dennis Scott, a 6-8 forward out of Georgia Tech. Scott gave the Magic another offensive weapon, and in 1990-91 they improved dramatically to 31-51. The team struggled early but then began playing solid ball for Coach Matt Guokas. Orlando put together an 8-3 record in February, the first winning month in franchise history, and went 20-18 over the last three months of the season. After an 0-6 start and an 11-33 mark through January, the Magic began playing a team-oriented brand of ball, with predictably positive results. Orlando made its first mark in the all-time NBA record book on December 30, when scrappy 6-1 point guard Scott Skiles racked up 30 assists in a game against the Denver Nuggets. By late February, Orlando had already surpassed its previous season's win total. The Magic closed out the season with victory No. 31, a 120-110 win at New Jersey that gave Orlando the most improved won-lost record among NBA teams.
Skiles had a terrific season, averaging team highs of 17.2 points and 8.4 assists. He was named NBA Most Improved Player at season's end. In keeping with the team concept, five other Magic players averaged more than 12.9 points. The team was also better defensively, as opponents scored 109.9 points per game, 10 points fewer than the previous season.
Forward Dennis Scott, who had Orlando's best scoring night of the season on March 8 with 40 points against the Denver Nuggets, set a team mark with 125 three-point field goals for the season, the best long-distance production by a rookie in NBA history. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. The following year was disappointing after the promise of the previous campaign. The Magic slid to 21-61 in 1991-92 and did not enjoy a single winning month. Scott missed all but 18 games of the season with injuries, and Nick Anderson sat out 22 contests.
There were some encouraging early performances, however. In November, Anderson set a team single-game steals record by swiping 8 against the Washington Bullets. In the same month Terry Catledge pocketed 22 rebounds against Philadelphia. But then Orlando went 0-15 in December, part of a 17-game losing streak. The Magic finally broke out of the tailspin with a 104-103 victory against the SuperSonics in Seattle on January 8, with Sam Vincent contributing 35 points.
Scott provided 19.9 points per game in his 18 appearances. Anderson also posted a 19.9 average in his 60 contests. Six other players averaged in double figures, including Catledge, Vincent, Scott Skiles, Jerry Reynolds, Anthony Bowie, and rookie center Stanley Roberts. Catledge topped the team in rebounding (7.0 rpg), and Skiles paced the club in assists (7.3 apg). Orlando was still a winner at the box office-all 41 home games were sellouts.
1992-93: The Most Important Day In Franchise HistoryThe franchise's luck changed on May 17, 1992, when it won the first pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. In the 1992 Draft Orlando selected 7-1, 301-pound Louisiana State center Shaquille O'Neal, the most coveted player to come out of college in several years. Everything changed for the better when "Shaq" joined the squad. Dennis Scott, Terry Catledge, Scott Skiles, and Nick Anderson remained in the starting lineup, but instead of Greg Kite as the team's starting center, the Magic now had O'Neal. Injuries to Scott (28 missed games) and reserve big man Brian Williams (61 missed games) defused some of the team's momentum, but Orlando's 1992-93 record improved 20 games, to 41-41, marking the best turnaround in the NBA that season.
O'Neal, with his huge stature, shaved head, and bright smile, became one of the most recognizable figures in basketball, arguably second only to the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan as the game's top personality. On February 21 O'Neal started in the NBA All-Star Game at Salt Lake City. He was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985.
On March 27 the Magic recorded season victory No. 32, a new club record. And O'Neal wasn't the only Orlando player capable of making history. Dennis Scott hit a club-record 9 three-pointers against the Bucks on April 13, only one shy of the NBA record set a week earlier by Brian Shaw of Miami.
It was hard to steal the Shaq's thunder, however. In the same game that featured Scott's three-point barrage, O'Neal had 15 points and 16 rebounds, becoming the first rookie since Buck Williams in 1981-82 to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a season. Three days later, on April 23, Nick Anderson toasted the Nets for a franchise-record 50 points, breaking Terry Catledge's 1990 mark by a single point. Anderson sat out the entire first quarter, then shot 17-for-25 from the field and 12-for-12 from the foul line.
Orlando ended its most successful season yet with a victory over the Atlanta Hawks. For the year, Orlando was strong at home, with a 27-14 mark, but the team struggled on the road at 14-27. The team climbed out of the Atlantic Division basement to finish fourth, just two games behind New Jersey. Despite its respectable 41-41 record, the Magic missed the playoffs because Indiana had the same record in the Eastern Conference and edged the Magic via a tiebreaker formula.
Nevertheless, it was a successful season that held much promise for the future. O'Neal led the team in scoring with 23.4 points per game. His 1,893 points on the season were a team record, as was his .562 shooting from the field. He also averaged 13.9 rebounds and rejected 3.53 shots per game. He was the only NBA player to rank in the top 10 in four categories, finishing second in rebounding, second in blocks, fourth in field goal percentage, and eighth in scoring. O'Neal was named NBA Rookie of the Year for 1992-93.
His achievements were all the more remarkable since many observers felt that O'Neal was a raw talent with unrefined skills who was getting by mostly on physical superiority. Nevertheless, as a personality, O'Neal had few peers. He appeared in advertisements for shoes and soft drinks, made a hit rap record called Shaq Diesel, and appeared in a movie about college basketball entitled "Blue Chips."
Nick Anderson provided able support for O'Neal, averaging 19.9 points and recording career highs in almost every statistical category. Dennis Scott and Scott Skiles each scored more than 15 points per game. Skiles continued to be an effective playmaker, handing out a career-high 735 assists (an average of 9.4 per game), third most in the league. After the season the Magic made some changes on the bench. Matt Guokas stepped down as head coach. Orlando elevated assistant coach Brian Hill to the head coaching role. Hill brought with him 24 years of high school, college, and professional coaching experience, and was a popular choice among Magic players.
Having just missed the playoffs in 1993, the Magic entered the NBA Draft Lottery with the best record among non-playoff teams and the worst chance of winning the first pick. Only 1 of the 66 balls in the lottery machine had Orlando's name on it. Miraculously, that ball came up before any other, and Orlando ended up with its second straight No. 1 overall pick. The last team to have picked first in successive drafts was the Houston Rockets, which selected Ralph Sampson in 1983 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984.
1993-94: Magic Acquire A Million-Dollar "Penny"The Magic used the No. 1 pick to their advantage by engineering the biggest draft-day trade in recent history. The University of Michigan's Chris Webber seemed a clear choice for the No. 1 selection, but Orlando coveted Memphis State guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, whom Golden State seemed likely to select with the No. 3 pick. So, after the Magic picked Webber and the Warriors selected Hardaway, the teams swapped draftees, with Orlando also receiving three future first-round draft choices.
The events of the 1993 NBA Draft seemed to assure the Magic of fielding a solid team for years to come. Not only did they have a young and potent inside-outside tandem in O'Neal and Hardaway, but Orlando also owned 11 first-round draft picks over the next seven years. In 1993-94 Orlando rose above the ranks of the expansion teams. Not only did the club win 50 games and make the playoffs, but with Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway, the Magic also became one of the top attractions in professional sports. Hardaway began the year as the club's shooting guard, leaving the veteran Scott Skiles at the point guard position.
However, by midseason Hardaway was in his natural position at the point, and Nick Anderson moved back to the off guard slot. For the season, Hardaway tallied 16.0 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game. He ranked sixth in the league in steals (2.32 per game), was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and finished a close second to Chris Webber for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
Despite Hardaway's accomplishments, the fate of the Magic still rested on the broad shoulders of O'Neal. The big center, criticized by some for spending time in the offseason making films, records, and commercials instead of working on his offensive skills, dunked on his critics with an average of 29.3 points per game. He battled the San Antonio Spurs' David Robinson for the league scoring crown throughout the year, eventually settling for second place when Robinson poured in 71 points in the last game of the season. O'Neal also led the league in field goal percentage (.599), ranked second in rebounding, and sixth in blocked shots. He started in the NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year.
The Magic reached the All-Star break with a 27-20 record, went 23-12 for the remainder of the season, and finished in second place in the Atlantic Division. But the Indiana Pacers, the surprise team of the playoffs, began their run to the Eastern Conference Finals by sweeping Orlando in the first round. Following the season O'Neal led Dream Team II to a gold medal at the 1994 World Championship of Basketball.