Along with the Miami Heat
Along with the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and
Charlotte Hornets, the Orlando Magic were part of the expansion NBA's boom in
the late 1980's. Together with the Miami Heat, the Magic were one of the first
two professional basketball teams in Florida since the 1972 Miami Floridians of
the ABA. Before the Magic and Heat started play, the last notable professional
basketball players in Florida had been Mack Calvin and Warren Jabali of the
Floridians.
After struggling through their first three seasons, the Magic
finally had true reason for optimism when they drafted Shaquille O'Neal out of
LSU with the 1st pick in the 1992 draft. In his first season the Magic improved
from 21-61 to 41-41. After drafting Anfernee Hardaway in 1993, the Magic made
the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history.
The Orlando Magic experienced their greatest success during
the time that Shaq and Penny played together. In 1995, the Magic made it to the
NBA Finals where they lost in 4 games to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston
Rockets. The next season the made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where
they were swept by the 72-win Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
Some of the notable Orland Magic players have been:
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Nick Anderson (1990-99)
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Darrell Armstrong (1995-2003)
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Patrick Ewing (2002) Hall of Famer
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Steve Francis (2004-05)
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Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway (1994-99)
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Grant Hill (2001-)
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Dwight Howard (2005-)
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Tracy McGrady (2001-04)
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Shaquille O'Neal (1993-96)
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Dennis Scott (1991-97)
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Scott Skiles (1990-94)
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Reggie Theus (1990)
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Ben Wallace (2000)
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Dominique Wilkins (1999) Hall of Famer
The design of the Orlando Magic NBA fabric is composed of
blue and gray squares. Within the squares are jerseys, basketballs and the
Magic's logo.
This Orlando Magic novelty fabric is licensed by the NBA and
is for individual consumption. Any other use of this NBA fabric is prohibited
and illegal. The Orlando Magic cotton fabric is not suitable for children's
sleepwear.