1995–96 Orlando Magic season

1995–96 Orlando Magic season
Atlantic Division Champions
Head coach	Brian Hill
Arena	Orlando Arena
Results
Record	60–22 (.732)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Finals (eliminated 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	SportsChannel Florida, Sunshine Network, WKCF
Radio	WDBO

The 1995–96 season is the seventh season of the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Magic clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 60–22 record. A regular season record which still stands as the best in franchise history. This despite missing Shaquille O'Neal for the first 22 games of the season due to a thumb injury. Anfernee Hardaway stepped up in O'Neal's absence and was awarded Player of the Month for November. The season saw Dennis Scott take a place in the league history books by scoring 267 three-point field goals, a single season record.

Despite the franchise best record, the Magic were beaten to top seed in the East by the dominant Chicago Bulls who finished with an NBA All-time best record of 72–10.

In the playoffs the Magic swept the Detroit Pistons in 3–0 in the opening round. The second round saw the Magic meet the Atlanta Hawks, a match-up they would win 4–1.

The Eastern Conference Finals matched up the Magic with the Chicago Bulls, the team they had eliminated in the previous year's play-offs. This year though, the Bulls would be too strong sweeping the Magic 4–0. Thereby, the Magic became the first team by eliminated from the playoffs in a sweep for three consecutive seasons since the 1950 Chicago Stags.

During the off-season, the All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal left the team, signing as a free agent for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Draft picks

Main article: 1995 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	25	David Vaughn	PF	United States	Memphis

Roster

Orlando Magic roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SG 25 Anderson, Nick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Illinois PG 10 Armstrong, Darrell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fayetteville State PF 24 Bonner, Anthony 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Saint Louis SG 14 Bowie, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oklahoma PF 54 Grant, Horace 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson PG 1 Hardaway, Penny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Memphis C 45 Koncak, John 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Southern Methodist C 32 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) LSU SF 5 Royal, Donald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Notre Dame SF 3 Scott, Dennis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Georgia Tech PG 20 Shaw, Brian 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) UC Santa Barbara PG 22 Thompson, Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma State PF 42 Vaughn, David 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Memphis C 12 Wolf, Joe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina	Head coach Brian Hill (JFK College) Assistant coach(es) Richie Adubato (William Paterson) Tree Rollins (Clemson) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Orlando Magic	60	22	.732	–	37–4	23–18	21–3
x-New York Knicks	47	35	.573	13	26–15	21–20	16–8
x-Miami Heat	42	40	.512	18	26–15	16–25	13–12
Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	21	25–16	14–27	10–14
Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	27	18–23	15–26	12–12
New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	30	20–21	10–31	8–17
Philadelphia 76ers	18	64	.220	42	11–30	7–34	5–19

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Chicago Bulls	72	10	.878	–
2	y-Orlando Magic	60	22	.732	12
3	x-Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	20
4	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	25
5	x-New York Knicks	47	35	.573	25
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561	26
7	x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	26
8	x-Miami Heat	42	40	.512	30
9	Charlotte Hornets	41	41	.500	31
10	Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	33
11	Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	39
12	New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	42
13	Milwaukee Bucks	25	57	.305	47
14	Toronto Raptors	21	61	.256	51
15	Philadelphia 76ers	18	64	.220	54

Player stats

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

Player	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Penny Hardaway	82	82	3015	354	582	166	41	1780	21.7
Shaquille O'Neal	54	52	1946	596	155	34	115	1434	26.6
Dennis Scott	82	82	3041	309	243	90	29	1431	17.5
Nick Anderson	77	77	2717	415	279	121	46	1134	14.7
Horace Grant	63	62	2286	580	170	62	74	847	13.4
Brian Shaw	75	1	1679	224	336	58	11	496	6.6
Donald Royal	64	7	963	153	42	29	15	337	5.3
Anthony Bowie	74	4	1078	123	105	34	10	308	4.2
Joe Wolf	63	8	1047	185	63	13	5	291	4.6
Jon Koncak	67	35	1288	272	51	27	44	203	3.0
Brooks Thompson	33	0	246	24	31	12	0	140	4.2
David Vaughn	33	0	266	80	8	6	15	64	1.9
Jeff Turner	13	0	192	28	6	2	1	47	3.6
Darrell Armstrong	13	0	41	2	5	6	0	42	3.2
Anthony Bonner	4	0	43	19	4	3	0	13	3.3
Geert Hammink	3	0	7	3	0	0	0	4	1.3

Playoffs

The Magic opened up their playoffs campaign on April 26 against the Detroit Pistons, a game they won convincingly 112-92 at home in the Orlando Arena. The Magic would also win game 2 at home before clinching the series, and a sweep, of the Pistons in game 3 away from home at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The second round put the Magic against the Atlanta Hawks. The Magic opened the series with two convincing wins at home, both with scoring margins greater than 20 points. The Magic carried this momentum into game 3 away from home, winning a closer fought match 102-96. The Atlanta Hawks won game 4, avoiding the sweep, but the Magic were too strong and won game 5 at home to clinch the series 4-1.

The Eastern Conference finals saw the Magic face the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, a team they had eliminated in the previous years playoffs. The dominant Chicago Bulls would prove to be too strong for the Orlando Magic this year, sweeping the series 4-0 and denying the Magic consecutive trips to the NBA finals.

East First Round

(2) Orlando Magic vs. (7) Detroit Pistons

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (ORL-DET)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 26	Detroit	92	Orlando	112	1-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	1
2	April 28	Detroit	77	Orlando	92	2-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	2
3	April 30	Orlando	101	Detroit	98	3-0	Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan	3	TBS
Orlando wins series 3–0

East Conference Semifinals

(2) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (ORL-ATL)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	May 8	Atlanta	95	Orlando	117	1-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	1	TBS
2	May 10	Atlanta	94	Orlando	120	2-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	2
3	May 12	Orlando	102	Atlanta	96	3-0	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	3	NBC
4	May 13	Orlando	99	Atlanta	104	3-1	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia	4
5	May 15	Atlanta	88	Orlando	96	4-1	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	5	TBS
Orlando wins series 4–1

East Conference Finals

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (2) Orlando Magic

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (CHI-ORL)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	May 19	Orlando	83	Chicago	121	1-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	1	NBC
2	May 21	Orlando	88	Chicago	93	2-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	2	TNT
3	May 25	Chicago	86	Orlando	67	3-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	3	NBC
4	May 27	Chicago	106	Orlando	101	4-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	4	NBC
Chicago wins series 4-0

Player Stats

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

Player	GP	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Penny Hardaway	12	473	56	72	20	4	280	23.3
Shaquille O'Neal	12	459	120	55	9	15	310	25.8
Dennis Scott	12	446	43	23	9	1	136	11.3
Nick Anderson	11	418	55	21	21	5	156	14.2
Horace Grant	9	334	94	13	7	6	135	15
Brian Shaw	10	217	21	46	5	0	47	4.7
Donald Royal	7	92	11	1	0	1	25	3.6
Anthony Bowie	12	152	17	14	3	2	30	2.5
Joe Wolf	11	85	6	2	1	0	20	1.8
Jon Koncak	12	140	23	3	5	4	11	0.9
Brooks Thompson	5	48	5	7	0	1	26	5.2
Anthony Bonner	4	16	2	1	0	0	3	0.8

Awards and honors

• Nick Anderson, Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award
• Horace Grant, NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
• Penny Hardaway, Player of the Month - November.
• Penny Hardaway, All-NBA First Team.
• Shaquille O'Neal, All-NBA Third Team.

League records

During the 1995-96 season,Dennis Scott set the record for most three point field goals scored in a regular season with 267.

All Stars

The following players were selected to play in the East v West All-Star game

• Anfernee Hardaway
• Shaquille O'Neal

References

• Orlando Magic on Basketball Reference