1994–95 Orlando Magic season

1994–95 Orlando Magic season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach Brian Hill
Arena Orlando Arena
Results
Record 57–25 (.695)
Place Division: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(Lost to Rockets 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WKCF
Sunshine Network
Radio WDBO

The 1994–95 NBA season was the Magic's 6th season in the National Basketball Association.[1] After building through the draft in previous years, the Magic made themselves even stronger by signing free agents Horace Grant and Brian Shaw.[2] Grant gave the Magic one of the most dominant starting lineups in the NBA. Shaquille O'Neal continued to dominate the NBA with 29.3 points per game. The Magic easily won the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record.[3] They also finished with a 39–2 home record, tied for second best in NBA history. Second-year star Anfernee Hardaway was selected to play in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game along with O'Neal.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Magic overwhelmed the Boston Celtics with a 124–77 victory in Game 1. The Magic would eliminate the Celtics at the Boston Garden to win the series 3–1. These matches would be the final 2 basketball games ever played at the Garden.[3]

In the second round, the Magic were matched up against the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were on an emotional high as Michael Jordan had just returned from his baseball career to play basketball. Jordan was now wearing the number 45 for the Bulls. The Magic won the first game 94–91. Tensions rose when Nick Anderson indicated that Jordan was no longer the same player when Anderson was quoted by the media saying, "Number 23, he could just blow right by you! Number 45, he revs up, but doesn't really take off." The comment motivated Jordan to return to number 23 and the Bulls evened the series.[4] In Game 5, the Magic won the game 103–95. The Magic would eliminate the Bulls in Game 6 as the Magic won 108–102 to advance to the Conference Finals.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic would beat the Indiana Pacers in a tough 7-game series that saw the home team win every game.[5]

The Magic were off to their first ever NBA Finals. The Magic faced off against the 6th-seeded and defending NBA Champion Houston Rockets. Shaq would be up against Hakeem Olajuwon in a battle of All-Star Centers. Game 1 was played in Orlando and the game was lost at the free throw line. Anderson missed four consecutive free throws with the Magic up by three at waning seconds of the game and the Rockets tied the game at the buzzer. The Rockets would then win Game 1 in overtime.[3] The Magic would not recover from their Game 1 loss as the Rockets swept the series in 4 straight.[6]

For the season, the Magic had new blue pinstripe road uniforms, while the black pinstripe jerseys became their alternate. Both uniforms lasted until 1998.

Orlando did not make another appearance in the NBA Finals until 2009.

Offseason

The Orlando Magic signed Horace Grant.

NBA Draft

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 27 Brooks Thompson SG  United States Oklahoma State
2 31 Rodney Dent PF/C  United States Kentucky

Roster

Orlando Magic roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 25 United States Anderson, Nick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Illinois
PG 10 United States Armstrong, Darrell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fayetteville State
PF 00 United States Avent, Anthony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Seton Hall
SG 14 United States Bowie, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oklahoma
C — United States Dent, Rodney  (IN) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Kentucky
PF 54 United States Grant, Horace 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson
C 43 Netherlands Hammink, Geert  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 262 lb (119 kg) LSU
PG 1 United States Hardaway, Anfernee 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Memphis
C 32 United States O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) LSU
C 30 United States Rollins, Tree 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Clemson
SF 5 United States Royal, Donald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Notre Dame
SF 3 United States Scott, Dennis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Georgia Tech
PG 20 United States Shaw, Brian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) UC Santa Barbara
PG 22 United States Thompson, Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma State
PF 31 United States Turner, Jeff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Vanderbilt
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Roster Notes

  • Center Tree Rollins was a player/coach during the season.
  • Center Rodney Dent missed the entire season due to a stress fracture in his left foot.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Orlando Magic 5725.695—39-218-2318-10
x-New York Knicks 5527.671229-1226-1523-5
x-Boston Celtics 3547.4272220-2115-2614-14
Miami Heat 3250.3902522-1910-319-19
New Jersey Nets 3052.3662720-2110-3113-15
Philadelphia 76ers 2458.2933314-2710-3112-16
Washington Bullets 2161.2563613-288-339-19

[7]

Record vs. opponents

1994–95 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —3–12–21–41–42–02–03–22–00–21–42–00–22–21–32–04–02–21–33–11–11–11–11–10–20–24–0
Boston 1–3—1–30–42–21–11–13–12–01–12–20–21–14–11–32–02–30–52–33–11–10–21–10–21–10–23–1
Charlotte 2–23–1—2–23–20–21–15–02–00–21–42–00–23–14–11–13–13–11–33–10–22–01–11–12–02–03–1
Chicago 4–14–02–2—2–31–11–15–02–01–12–21–11–13–11–42–02–23–11–34–01–11–10–21–10–20–22–2
Cleveland 4–12–22–33–2—0–21–12–22–00–22–31–11–11–34–01–14–02–21–33–11–11–11–10–20–21–13–1
Dallas 0–21–12–01–12–0—1–41–13–12–31–13–11–30–21–14–11–10–20–22–00–43–12–22–30–42–41–1
Denver 0–21–11–11–11–14–1—1–11–31–41–14–02–22–02–06–01–10–20–21–11–33–12–21–41–31–42–0
Detroit 2–31–30–50–52–21–11–1—1–10–22–21–10–21–32–31–12–21–31–34–01–10–21–10–20–20–23–1
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–21–33–11–1—0–40–23–23–21–10–21–31–11–10–21–13–21–40–51–31–42–22–0
Houston 2–01–12–01–12–03–24–12–04–0—1–13–10–42–01–13–22–00–20–22–03–11–33–11–50–42–32–0
Indiana 4–12–24–12–23–21–11–12–22–01–1—2–01–12–23–22–03–11–32–24–01–11–12–02–01–10–23–1
L.A. Clippers 0–22–00–21–11–11–30–41–12–31–30–2—2–30–21–11–30–20–20–21–11–40–51–40–40–51–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–12–01–11–13–12–22–02–34–01–13–2—1–11–13–12–00–21–11–11–42–33–21–34–12–22–0
Miami 2–21–41–31–33–12–00–23–11–10–22–22–01–1—4–01–11–31–41–31–40–20–20–20–20–20–24–1
Milwaukee 3–13–11–44–10–41–10–23–22–01–12–31–11–10–4—1–12–22–20–43–10–20–21–10–20–20–23–1
Minnesota 0–20–21–10–21–11–40–61–13–12–30–23–11–31–11–1—1–10–21–11–10–40–41–30–50–41–41–1
New Jersey 0–43–21–32–20–41–11–12–21–10–21–32–00–23–12–21–1—1–42–22–30–21–11–10–21–10–22–3
New York 2–25–01–31–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–02–04–12–22–04–1—2–34–01–11–12–01–10–20–24–0
Orlando 3–13–23–13–13–12–02–03–12–02–02–22–01–13–14–01–12–23–2—4–11–12–01–11–10–21–13–2
Philadelphia 1–31–31–30–41–30–21–10–41–10–20–41–11–14–11–31–13–20–41–4—0–22–01–10–20–20–23–2
Phoenix 1–11–12–01–11–14–03–11–12–31–31–14–14–12–02–04–02–01–11–12–0—5–04–12–24–12–22–0
Portland 1–12–00–21–11–11–31–32–04–13–11–15–03–22–02–04–01–11–10–20–20–5—3–21–32–31–32–0
Sacramento 1–11–11–12–01–12–22–21–15–01–30–24–12–32–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–42–3—0–43–20–41–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–11–12–03–24–12–03–15–10–24–03–12–02–05–02–01–11–12–02–23–14–0—2–23–22–0
Seattle 2–01–10–22–02–04–03–12–04–14–01–15–01–42–02–04–01–12–02–02–01–43–22–32–2—1–32–0
Utah 2–02–00–22–01–14–24–12–02–23–22–03–12–22–02–04–12–02–01–12–02–23–14–02–33–1—2–0
Washington 0–41–31–32–21–31–10–21–30–20–21–32–00–21–41–31–13–20–42–32–30–20–21–10–20–20–2—

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) Orlando Magic vs. (8) Boston Celtics: Magic win series 3-1

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Orlando Magic vs. (5) Chicago Bulls: Magic win series 4-2

  • Game 1 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (May 7): Orlando 94, Chicago 91
  • Game 2 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (May 10): Chicago 104, Orlando 94
  • Game 3 @ United Center, Chicago (May 12): Orlando 110, Chicago 101
  • Game 4 @ United Center, Chicago (May 14): Chicago 106, Orlando 95
  • Game 5 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (May 16): Orlando 103, Chicago 95
  • Game 6 @ United Center, Chicago (May 18): Orlando 108, Chicago 102

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

East Conference Finals

(1) Orlando Magic vs. (2) Indiana Pacers: Magic win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Eastern Conference First Round (Indiana won 3-0)

NBA finals

Olajuwon vs. O'Neal

Although both centers played well, Olajuwon is generally considered to have outplayed O'Neal. Olajuwon outscored O'Neal in every game of the series and became one of the few players in NBA history to score at least 30 points in every game of an NBA Finals series:[8][9]

1995 NBA Finals Gm 1 Gm 2 Gm 3 Gm 4 Totals
Hakeem Olajuwon 31 34 31 35 32.8 ppg
Shaquille O'Neal 26 33 28 25 28.0 ppg

Series Summary

GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1June 7Orlando118–120Houston
Game 2June 9Orlando106–117Houston
Game 3June 11Houston106–103Orlando
Game 4June 14Houston113–101Orlando

Rockets win series 4-0

Player statistics

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Season

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Nick Anderson7633531412522120015.8
Penny Hardaway7733655113026161320.9
Shaquille O'Neal7990121473192231529.3

Awards and honors

  • Shaquille O'Neal, NBA Scoring Champion (2315 pts)
  • Shaquille O'Neal, NBA Leader Points per Game (29.3)

References

  1. ↑ 1994-95 Orlando Magic
  2. ↑ "Magic Sign Grant Skiles Traded". Orlando Sentinel. July 30, 1994. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Orlando Magic (1989-Present)
  4. ↑ "1995 N.B.A PLAYOFFS; Bulls Change the Numbers That Matter". New York Times. May 11, 1995. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  5. ↑ "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Do You Believe in the Magic? The Indiana Pacers Do". New York Times. June 5, 1995. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Rockets Sweep to 2d Straight Championship". New York Times. June 15, 1995. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ 1994-95 NBA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
  8. ↑ History of the NBA Finals: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA’s Best In The Mid ’90s, hollywoodsportsbook.com, accessed February 16, 2007.
  9. ↑ NBA Finals Records Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine., Basketball.com, accessed February 16, 2007.
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