1996–97 Orlando Magic season

1996–97 Orlando Magic season
Head coachBrian Hill (fired)
Richie Adubato (interim)
PresidentBob Vander Weide
General managerJohn Gabriel
OwnerRichard DeVos
ArenaOrlando Arena
Results
Record45–37 (.549)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Atlantic)
Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Heat 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWKCF
Sunshine Network
RadioWDBO

The 1996–97 Orlando Magic season was the eighth season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association.[1] After losing All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal via free agency to the Los Angeles Lakers during the off-season, the Magic acquired Felton Spencer from the Utah Jazz,[2][3][4] and signed free agents Gerald Wilkins,[5][6][7] Derek Strong,[8][9] and Danny Schayes.[10] However, after only playing just one game for the team, Spencer was then traded along with Donald Royal, and Jon Koncak to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Rony Seikaly.[11][12][13]

Early into the regular season, the Magic traveled overseas to Tokyo, Japan to play two games against the New Jersey Nets at the Tokyo Dome. In the first game on November 7, 1996, the Magic were the road team and defeated the Nets by a score of 108–85; Penny Hardaway led the team with 23 points, while Wilkins scored 18 points off the bench.[14][15][16] In the second game on November 8, the Magic were the home team and defeated the Nets by a score of 86–82; Hardaway led the team with 29 points, while Horace Grant finished with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.[17][18][19] Both games had an attendance of 38,639 fans at the Tokyo Dome.[16][19]

With the addition of Seikaly, Wilkins and Strong, the Magic got off to an 8–4 start to the regular season in November, but then struggled losing ten of their twelve games in December, falling below .500 in winning percentage with a 10–16 record at the end of the month. However, the team won 11 of their 15 games in January, and later on held a 24–20 record at the All-Star break.[20] The team posted a five-game losing streak after the All-Star break, as head coach Brian Hill was fired 49 games into the season, and Hardaway was generally blamed for leading a player revolt that resulted in his dismissal; Hill was replaced with assistant coach Richie Adubato for the remainder of the season.[21][22][23] Under Adubato, the Magic posted a six-game winning streak in February, and finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 45–37 record, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.[24]

Hardaway averaged 20.5 points, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, despite only playing 59 games due to knee injuries,[25][26][27] while Seikaly averaged 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and Grant provided the team with 12.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, three-point specialist Dennis Scott contributed 12.5 points per game, and led the Magic with 147 three-point field goals, and Nick Anderson provided with 12.0 points and 1.9 steals per game, along with 143 three-point field goals, but struggled shooting just .404 in free-throw percentage. Off the bench, Wilkins contributed 10.6 points per game, while Strong averaged 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, Brian Shaw provided with 7.2 points and 4.1 assists per game, and Darrell Armstrong contributed 6.1 points and 2.6 assists per game.[28]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Hardaway was selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team.[29][30][31] Seikaly finished tied in twelfth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Grant finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.[32]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Magic faced off against their in-state rivals, the 2nd–seeded and Atlantic Division champion Miami Heat, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, and Jamal Mashburn. Prior to the playoffs, Grant was out due to a season-ending wrist injury, and was replaced with Strong as the team's starting power forward.[33][34][35] The Magic lost the first two games on the road at the Miami Arena, which included a 35-point margin loss to the Heat in Game 1, 99–64. The Magic won their next two home games over the Heat at the Orlando Arena, winning Game 3 by a score of 88–75, in which Penny Hardaway scored 42 points, and winning Game 4 by a score of 99–91 to even the series, as Hardaway scored 41 points.[36][37] However, the Magic lost Game 5 to the Heat at the Miami Arena, 91–83, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.[38][39][40] As of 2026, this was the only NBA playoff matchup between both teams from Florida.

The Magic finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 711,311 at the Orlando Arena during the regular season.[28][41] Following the season, Scott was involved in controversy after a public outburst at a youth basketball camp in Sterling, Virginia during the off-season, in which he threatened to retire from the NBA due to a contract dispute with the Magic;[42][43][44] he was later on traded to the Dallas Mavericks after seven seasons in Orlando.[45][46][47] Meanwhile, Shaw was dealt to the Golden State Warriors,[48][49][50] and Adubato was fired as head coach.[51]

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team
1 27 Brian Evans SF  United States Indiana
2 49 Amal McCaskill C  United States Marquette

Roster

1996–97 Orlando Magic roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G/F 25 Nick Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–01–20 Illinois
G 10 Darrell Armstrong 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1968–06–22 Fayetteville State
G 5 Dell Demps 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1970–02–12 Pacific
F 34 Brian Evans 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1973–09–13 Indiana
F 54 Horace Grant 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1965–07–04 Clemson
G 1 Penny Hardaway 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–07–18 Memphis
C 00 Amal McCaskill 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1973–10–28 Marquette
F 24 Danny Schayes 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–05–10 Syracuse
G/F 3 Dennis Scott 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) 1968–09–05 Georgia Tech
C 4 Rony Seikaly 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1965–05–10 Syracuse
G 20 Brian Shaw 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–03–22 UC Santa Barbara
F 33 Derek Strong 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–02–09 Xavier
F 42 David Vaughn 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1973–03–23 Memphis
G 21 Gerald Wilkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–09–11 Chattanooga
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: February 18, 1997

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Miami Heat 61 21 .744 – 29–12 32–9 16–8
x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695 4 31–10 26–15 19–6
x-Orlando Magic 45 37 .549 16 26–15 19–22 13–11
x-Washington Bullets 44 38 .537 17 25–16 19–22 14–10
New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 35 16–25 10–31 11–13
Philadelphia 76ers 22 60 .268 39 11–30 11–30 11–14
Boston Celtics 15 67 .183 46 11–30 4–37 1–23
1996–97 NBA East standings
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Chicago Bulls 69 13 .841 –
2 y-Miami Heat 61 21 .744 8
3 x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695 12
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 56 26 .683 13
5 x-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 15
6 x-Charlotte Hornets 54 28 .659 15
7 x-Orlando Magic 45 37 .549 24
8 x-Washington Bullets 44 38 .537 25
9 Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 27
10 Indiana Pacers 39 43 .476 30
11 Milwaukee Bucks 33 49 .402 36
12 Toronto Raptors 30 52 .366 39
13 New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 43
14 Philadelphia 76ers 22 60 .268 47
15 Boston Celtics 15 67 .183 54
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

1997 playoff game log
First round: 2–3 (home: 2–0; road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 24 @ Miami L 64–99 Derek Strong (15) Nick Anderson (12) Penny Hardaway (3) Miami Arena
15,200 		0–1
2 April 27 @ Miami L 87–104 Penny Hardaway (26) Derek Strong (16) Brian Shaw (4) Miami Arena
15,200 		0–2
3 April 29 Miami W 88–75 Penny Hardaway (42) Penny Hardaway (8) Darrell Armstrong (8) Orlando Arena
17,248 		1–2
4 May 1 Miami W 99–91 Penny Hardaway (41) Darrell Armstrong (9) Penny Hardaway (4) Orlando Arena
16,555 		2–2
5 May 4 @ Miami L 83–91 Penny Hardaway (33) Derek Strong (12) Penny Hardaway (6) Miami Arena
15,200 		2–3
1997 schedule

Player statistics

Regular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Derek Strong PF 82 21 2,004 519 73 47 20 699 24.4 6.3 .9 .6 .2 8.5
Gerald Wilkins SG 80 26 2,202 173 173 54 12 848 27.5 2.2 2.2 .7 .2 10.6
Brian Shaw PG 77 31 1,867 194 319 67 26 552 24.2 2.5 4.1 .9 .3 7.2
Rony Seikaly C 74 68 2,615 701 92 49 107 1,277 35.3 9.5 1.2 .7 1.4 17.3
Horace Grant PF 67 67 2,496 600 163 101 65 845 37.3 9.0 2.4 1.5 1.0 12.6
Darrell Armstrong PG 67 0 1,010 76 175 61 9 411 15.1 1.1 2.6 .9 .1 6.1
Dennis Scott SF 66 62 2,166 203 139 74 19 823 32.8 3.1 2.1 1.1 .3 12.5
Nick Anderson SG 63 61 2,163 304 182 120 32 757 34.3 4.8 2.9 1.9 .5 12.0
Penny Hardaway PG 59 59 2,221 263 332 93 35 1,210 37.6 4.5 5.6 1.6 .6 20.5
Danny Schayes PF 45 6 540 125 14 15 16 133 12.0 2.8 .3 .3 .4 3.0
David Vaughn III PF 35 6 298 95 7 8 15 81 8.5 2.7 .2 .2 .4 2.3
Amal McCaskill C 17 1 109 22 7 3 5 28 6.4 1.3 .4 .2 .3 1.6
Brian Evans SF 14 0 59 8 7 1 2 20 4.2 .6 .5 .1 .1 1.4
Kenny Smith† PG 6 0 47 2 4 0 0 17 7.8 .3 .7 .0 .0 2.8
Dell Demps SG 2 0 10 0 0 1 0 2 5.0 .0 .0 .5 .0 1.0
Donald Royal† SF 1 1 29 1 1 0 0 12 29.0 1.0 1.0 .0 .0 12.0
Felton Spencer† C 1 1 19 6 1 0 0 4 19.0 6.0 1.0 .0 .0 4.0
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Magic only.

Playoffs

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Penny Hardaway PG 5 5 220 30 17 12 7 155 44.0 6.0 3.4 2.4 1.4 31.0
Derek Strong PF 5 5 195 50 4 2 2 61 39.0 10.0 .8 .4 .4 12.2
Nick Anderson SG 5 5 130 29 3 3 9 28 26.0 5.8 .6 .6 1.8 5.6
Brian Shaw PG 5 4 82 9 8 1 1 10 16.4 1.8 1.6 .2 .2 2.0
Danny Schayes PF 5 2 92 12 5 2 1 22 18.4 2.4 1.0 .4 .2 4.4
Dennis Scott SF 5 1 94 9 5 2 0 15 18.8 1.8 1.0 .4 .0 3.0
Gerald Wilkins SG 5 0 144 9 4 0 2 47 28.8 1.8 .8 .0 .4 9.4
Darrell Armstrong PG 5 0 143 21 17 8 1 57 28.6 4.2 3.4 1.6 .2 11.4
Rony Seikaly C 3 3 86 16 0 1 3 19 28.7 5.3 .0 .3 1.0 6.3
Amal McCaskill C 2 0 7 3 1 0 0 5 3.5 1.5 .5 .0 .0 2.5
Brian Evans SF 2 0 7 0 2 1 0 2 3.5 .0 1.0 .5 .0 1.0

Awards and honors

References

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