1994-1995 Orlando Magic: Winning by Force

July 8th, 2026
By Marneen Zahavi
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The mid 1990’s was a very unique time period in the NBA as once dominant teams like the Chicago Bulls were just good teams because of the sudden retirement of Michael Jordan. The Bulls were a dynasty in the early 1990’s, but 1994 and 1995 were different stories. Part of what made basketball history so different in these two years would be the emergence of a team in Florida that had developed a nice blend of talent that could compete with anyone on the floor. That team was the Orlando Magic.

In the 1994-1995 NBA season the Orlando Magic went 57-25, winning the Atlantic Division by 2 games over the New York Knicks. The Magic went 39-2 on their home court of the Orlando Arena while going only 18-23 on the road. The Magic went 18-10 in divisional play.

One of the main pieces the Magic had in their initial success in the NBA was center Shaquille O’Neal, a dominant big man who was so powerful that he once broke the entire backboard after a slam dunk. O’Neal would become the season’s NBA Scoring Champion with 2,315 points and had 901 rebounds, 73 steals and 192 blocks, making 930 of 1,594 field goal shots. O’Neal averaged 29.3 points per game, which was the best average in the NBA.

Point guard Anfernee Hardaway was a well beloved player in the hearts of Orlando basketball fans, better known as “Penny”. Hardaway had 1,613 points, 551 assists and 130 steals, making 87 of 249 3-point shots and 356 of 463 free throws. Shooting guard Nick Anderson had 1,200 points, 314 assists and 125 steals, making 179 of 431 3-point shots and 143 of 203 free throws. Power forward Horace Grant had 948 points, 715 rebounds, 76 steals and 88 blocks, making 146 of 211 free throws.

Small forward Dennis Scott had 802 points, making 150 of 352 3-point shots and 86 of 114 free throws. Small forward Donald Royal had 625 points and made 223 of 299 free throws. Point guard Brian Shaw had 502 points, 406 assists and 73 steals, making 48 of 184 3-point shots and 70 of 95 free throws. Shooting guard Anthony Bowie had 427 points, making 12 of 40 3-point shots and 61 of 73 free throws. Power forward Jeff Turner made 27 of 75 3-point shots. Selected by the Magic with the 27^th pick in the 1^st Round of the 1994 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State University, shooting guard Brooks Thompson made 18 of 58 3-point shots in his rookie year.

There was one early sign of how dominant the Orlando Magic could potentially be as they went on an impressive 9-game winning streak during the regular season. This winning streak began with a 116-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on November 12, and the streak ended with a 125-100 win over the New York Knicks on December 2.

The Magic would take care of business in the 1^st Round of the Eastern Conference playoffs as they eliminated the Boston Celtics 3 games to 1. In Game 1 on April 28 at the Orlando Arena the Magic crushed the Celtics 124-77. Shaquille O’Neal had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Nick Anderson had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists while making 3 of 6 3-point shots. Horace Grant had 15 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Celtics got their only win in the series in Game 2 on April 30, beating the Magic 99-92. The Magic never let go of their control of this series, though. In Game 3 on May 3 at the Boston Garden the Magic beat the Celtics 82-77. Anderson had 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals while making 2 of 4 3-point shots. O’Neal had 20 points and pulled down an amazing 21 rebounds. Penny Hardaway had 16 points, 7 rebounds 8 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

In Game 4 on May 5 the Magic officially eliminated the Celtics with a 95-92 victory. O’Neal had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Grant had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Hardaway had only 10 points but also had 5 rebounds and 13 assists to boot.

Emotions were running high in the next series as the Orlando Magic would go up against a Chicago Bulls team that had recently retrieved their missing piece. Michael Jordan had finally returned to basketball after having a brief stint pursuing a baseball career. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals the Magic eliminated the Bulls 4 games to 2.

In Game 1 on May 7 at the Orlando Arena the Magic won 94-91. O’Neal had 26 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson had 20 points and made 3 of 6 3-point shots. Hardaway had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Grant had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

Going into Game 2 on May 10 Nick Anderson made a statement by claiming that Michael Jordan wasn’t the same iconic player that he had proven to be in years past. Anderson claimed that while he revved up in the #45 jersey, Jordan could never explode like he did in the #23 jersey. Switching back to #23, Jordan helped the Bulls beat the Magic 104-94.

In Game 3 on May 12 at the United Center the Magic beat the Bulls 110-101. O’Neal had 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Anderson had 22 points and 6 rebounds and made 3 of 6 3-point shots. Hardaway had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, making 1 of 2 3-point shots. Grant had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

The Bulls beat the Magic 106-95 in Game 4 on May 14. In Game 5 on May 16 at the Orlando Arena the Magic beat the Bulls 103-95. Grant had 24 points and 11 rebounds. O’Neal had 23 points, 4 assists and 5 blocks to go with an amazing 22 rebounds. Dennis Scott had 22 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, making 5 of 9 3-point shots. Hardaway had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists, making 1 of 3 3-point shots.

The Magic put the Bulls away with a 108-102 victory in Game 6 on May 18. O’Neal had 27 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Hardaway had 21 points and 7 rebounds, making 4 of 8 3-point shots. Scott had 21 points and 6 rebounds, making 4 of 9 3-point shots. Anderson had 18 points and 4 rebounds, making 4 of 6 3-point shots.

The Eastern Conference Finals would be a long, dragged out contest between the Orlando Magic and a perimeter sharpshooting team in the Indiana Pacers. This series would go the 7-game distance. In game 1 on May 23 at the Orlando Arena the Magic beat the Pacers 105-101. O’Neal had 32 points and 11 rebounds. Hardaway had 20 points, 4 rebounds, 14 assists and 3 steals, making 3 of 4 3-point shots. Scott had 19 points and 4 steals, making 5 of 11 3-point shots. Anderson had 16 points and made 3 of 6 3-point shots.

In Game 2 on May 15 the Magic beat the Pacers 119-114. O’Neal had 39 points and 10 rebounds. Scott had 25 points and 4 assists, making 7 of 15 3-point shots. Hardaway had 19 points, 4 rebounds, 15 assists and 3 steals, making 3 of 5 3-point shots. Anderson had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, making 2 of 6 3-point shots.

The next 2 games of the series would see the Pacers get back in the thick of things as they kept the otherwise powerful Magic team at bay. In Game 3 on May 27 at the Market Square Arena the Pacers beat the Magic 105-100, and then in Game 4 on May 29 the Pacers just edged out the Magic 94-93.

In Game 5 on May 31 at the Orlando Arena the Magic just barely won 108-106. O’Neal had 35 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists. Anderson had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, making 2 of 3 3-point shots. Back at Market Square Arena for Game 6 on June 2 the Magic would get crushed by the Pacers 123-96.

Going back home to the Orlando Arena, the Magic would win the deciding Game 7 on June 4 by the score of 105-81. Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Dennis Scott had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, making 5 of 7 3-point shots. Penny Hardaway had 17 points, 4 assists ad 3 steals, making 2 of 3 3-point shots. Unfortunately for the Magic, the Eastern Conference Champions would not have their ideal ending to an otherwise great season as they would get swept by the defending NBA Champions, the Houston Rockets, 4 games to none. It has been said that in a duel of the team’s centers Hakeem Olajuwon bested Shaquille O’Neal in terms of all-around play. The Rockets would repeat as NBA Champions. The Orlando Magic made a name for themselves in the 1990’s for winning by force as long as they had powerhouses like Shaquille O’Neal, and they would make the playoffs in the next 2 seasons.