1995–96 Orlando Magic season

The 1995–96 Orlando Magic season was the seventh season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Magic were coming off their trip to the 1995 NBA Finals, where they were swept by the 6th–seeded Houston Rockets in a four-game sweep. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Jon Koncak,^[2][3] and signed Joe Wolf during the first month of the regular season; Wolf was previously released by the Charlotte Hornets.^[4]

The Magic started the regular season without Shaquille O'Neal, who missed the first 22 games due to a preseason thumb injury.^[5][6][7] Penny Hardaway stepped up in O'Neal's absence, and was named the Player of the Month for November,^[8] as the team got off to a 13–2 start to the season. The Magic posted a seven-game winning streak between December and January, and later on held a 34–14 record at the All-Star break.^[9] At mid-season, the team traded Jeff Turner to the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Kenny Gattison; however, Gattison never played for the Magic, due to arm and neck injuries he sustained with the Grizzlies.^[10][11][12] The Magic posted another seven-game winning streak between February and March, and won their second consecutive Atlantic Division title with a franchise-best 60–22 record, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference.^[13]

O'Neal averaged 26.6 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in 54 games, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Hardaway averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and three-point specialist Dennis Scott contributed 17.5 points per game, and led the league with 267 three-point field goals, a single-season record since broken by Stephen Curry. In addition, Nick Anderson provided the team with 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and contributed 168 three-point field goals, while Horace Grant provided with 13.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Off the bench, Brian Shaw contributed 6.6 points and 4.5 assists per game, while Donald Royal provided with 5.3 points per game, Wolf averaged 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, Anthony Bowie contributed 4.2 points per game, and Koncak provided with 3.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.^[14]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, O'Neal and Hardaway were both selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team.^[15][16][17] O'Neal led the East with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks as they defeated the Western Conference, 129–118; however, despite having the best performance, Michael Jordan, who scored 20 points in 22 minutes, was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, which drew controversy and boos from the fans at the Alamodome.^[18][19][17] Meanwhile, Scott participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the second time,^[20][21] and second-year guard Darrell Armstrong participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[20][21]

Hardaway also finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, and David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, while O'Neal finished tied in ninth place;^[22][23] Grant finished tied in eighth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[23] and Scott finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[23] On April 18, 1996, Scott set a then-record of 11 three-point field goals in a single game, against the Atlanta Hawks at the Orlando Arena, in which the Magic defeated the Hawks, 119–104.^[24][25][26] This was also the only season of O'Neal's NBA career, where he hit his only career three-pointer in a 121–91 home win against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 16, 1996.^[27][28][29]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Magic faced off against the 7th–seeded Detroit Pistons, a team that featured All-Star forward Grant Hill, Allan Houston and Otis Thorpe. The Magic won the first two games over the Pistons at home at the Orlando Arena, before winning Game 3 on the road, 101–98 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, thus winning the series in a three-game sweep.^[30][31][32]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 6th–seeded Hawks, a team that featured Steve Smith, Mookie Blaylock and Grant Long. The Magic won the first three games to take a 3–0 series lead, but then lost Game 4 to the Hawks on the road, 104–99 at the Omni Coliseum.^[33][34][35] The Magic won Game 5 over the Hawks at the Orlando Arena, 96–88 to win the series in five games.^[36][37][38]

In the Eastern Conference Finals, and for the second consecutive year, the Magic faced off against the top–seeded, and Central Division champion Bulls, who were led by the trio of Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman, and also finished with a then all-time best record of 72–10; the Magic had eliminated the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals in the previous year's playoffs. However, Grant went down with an elbow injury in Game 1, in which the Magic lost on the road, 121–83 at the United Center, and he was out for the remainder of the series.^[39][40][41] The Magic suffered another painful blow when Anderson went down with a wrist injury in Game 3, in which the team lost at the Orlando Arena, 86–67, and he was also out for the rest of the series.^[42][43][44] Without Grant and Anderson, the Magic lost Game 4 to the Bulls at home, 106–101, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep.^[45][46][47] Thereby, the Magic became the first team to be eliminated from the NBA playoffs in a sweep for three consecutive seasons since the 1950 Chicago Stags. The Bulls would defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in six games in the 1996 NBA Finals, winning their fourth NBA championship in six years.^[48][49][50]

The Magic finished 13th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 707,168 at the Orlando Arena during the regular season.^[14][51] Following the season, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers after four seasons with the Magic,^[52][53][54] while Wolf signed with the Milwaukee Bucks,^[55] and Gattison and Bowie were both released to free agency.