Orlando Magic

Lore & Background

The Magic became the first-ever major-league professional sports franchise in the Orlando area, following an expansion fee of reportedly $32.5 million. They were one of the four new expansion franchises awarded by the NBA in 1987 along with the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Magic hired Matt Guokas as the team's first coach, who helped the Magic select 12 players in the NBA expansion draft on June 15, 1989.

Reader's Guide

The Magic's history was changed on May 17, 1992, when the franchise won the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft Lottery. The Magic selected big-man Shaquille O'Neal from Louisiana State University. O'Neal, a center, made an immediate impact on the Magic, leading the team to a 41–41 record. Despite O'Neal's presence, the Magic missed the 1993 NBA playoffs because they were tied with the Indiana Pacers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Pacers holding the tiebreaker. In the 1994–95 season, the Magic compiled a 57–25 record, best in the East and winning the Atlantic Division title, becoming the second-fastest team to advance to the NBA Finals in league history. In the playoffs, the Magic defeated the Boston Celtics, Bulls, and the Pacers, advancing to the NBA Finals where O'Neal, Hardaway and the young Magic bowed to a more playoff-experienced Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, winning their second consecutive championship in a 4–0 sweep of Orlando.

Did You Know?

• The Magic's very first game played was an exhibition game on October 13, 1989, against the then-reigning champion Detroit Pistons, which the Magic won.
• On December 30, 1990, Scott Skiles racked up 30 assists in the 155–116 victory over the Denver Nuggets, breaking Kevin Porter's NBA single-game assists record (29).
• The name 'Magic' alludes to the area's biggest tourist attraction and economic engine Walt Disney World, along with its Magic Kingdom.