1997–98 Orlando Magic season

1997–98 Orlando Magic season
Head coachChuck Daly
PresidentBob Vander Weide
General managerJohn Gabriel
OwnerRichard DeVos
ArenaOrlando Arena
Results
Record41–41 (.500)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Atlantic)
Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionSunshine Network, WKCF

The 1997–98 Orlando Magic season was the ninth season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the off-season, the Magic hired Chuck Daly as their new head coach; Daly led the Detroit Pistons to two consecutive NBA championships between 1989 and 1990.[2][3][4] The team also acquired All-Star guard Mark Price from the Golden State Warriors,[5][6][7] acquired Derek Harper from the Dallas Mavericks,[8][9][10] and signed free agent Bo Outlaw.[11][12][13]

Under Daly, and with the addition of Price, Harper and Outlaw, the Magic got off to a solid 16–7 start to the regular season, which included a six-game winning streak in November. However, the team struggled losing nine of their next ten games, as Penny Hardaway only played just 19 games due to a knee injury, averaging 16.4 points and 1.5 steals per game.[14][15][16] The team posted a seven-game losing streak in January, as Darrell Armstrong was out for the remainder of the season after 48 games, due to a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.[17][18] The Magic signed free agent Vernon Maxwell in January, but released him to free agency after eleven games, as he later on signed with the Charlotte Hornets.[19][20] The Magic fell below .500 in winning percentage, and held a 23–25 record at the All-Star break.[21]

At mid-season, the team traded Rony Seikaly to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Greg Foster and Chris Morris;[22][23][24] however, the trade was voided due to Seikaly failing to report to the Jazz within the 48-hour deadline, because of a foot injury.[25][26][27] Instead, he was then traded along with second-year forward Brian Evans to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for David Benoit, Kevin Edwards and Yinka Dare, who never played for the Magic and was released to free agency.[28][29][30] After the trade, the Magic signed free agent and former Slam Dunk champion Spud Webb to a 10-day contract, as he appeared in four games for the team before being waived.[31][32] The Magic played above .500 for the remainder of the season, and finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 41–41 record, missing the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1992–93 season.[33]

In Hardaway's absence, Nick Anderson stepped up averaging 15.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while Horace Grant averaged 12.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and Derek Strong provided the team with 12.7 points, and 7.4 rebounds per game off the bench as the team's sixth man. In addition, Outlaw had a stellar season averaging 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks per game, while Price contributed 9.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, Armstrong provided with 9.2 points and 4.9 assists per game, and Harper contributed 8.6 points and 3.5 assists per game. Meanwhile, Danny Schayes became the team's starting center after Seikaly was traded, as he averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and Wilkins contributed 5.3 points per game, but struggled as he shot just .325 in field-goal percentage.[34]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, and despite the knee injuries, Hardaway was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his fourth and final All-Star appearance.[35][36][37] Anderson finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Outlaw finished tied in eighth place;[38][39] Outlaw also finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Grant finished tied in eleventh place, and Daly finished tied in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.[39]

The Magic finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 667,322 at the Orlando Arena during the regular season.[34][40] Following the season, Price retired after twelve seasons in the NBA,[41] while Harper signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers,[42][43] and Benoit and Edwards were both released to free agency.[44]

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team
1 17 Johnny Taylor SF  United States Chattanooga
2 47 Eric Washington SG  United States Alabama

Roster

1997–98 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
F 2 David Benoit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–05–09 Alabama
G 20 Kevin Edwards 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1965–10–30 DePaul
F/C 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
G 12 Derek Harper 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1961–10–13 Illinois
C 8 Jason Lawson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1974–09–02 Villanova
G 3 Kevin Ollie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1972–12–27 Connecticut
F 45 Bo Outlaw 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971–04–13 Houston
G 5 Mark Price 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1964–02–15 Georgia Tech
C 24 Danny Schayes 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–05–10 Syracuse
F 33 Derek Strong 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–02–09 Xavier
F 17 Johnny Taylor 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–06–04 Chattanooga
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: March 22, 1998

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Miami Heat 55 27 .671 – 30-11 25–16 18–6
x-New York Knicks 43 39 .524 12 28–13 15–26 13–11
x-New Jersey Nets 43 39 .524 12 26–15 17–24 12–12
Washington Wizards 42 40 .512 13 24–17 18–23 12–13
Orlando Magic 41 41 .500 14 24–17 17–24 11–13
Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 19 24–17 12–29 12–12
Philadelphia 76ers 31 51 .378 24 19–22 12–29 7–17
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Chicago Bulls 62 20 .756 –
2 y-Miami Heat 55 27 .671 7
3 x-Indiana Pacers 58 24 .707 4
4 x-Charlotte Hornets 51 31 .622 11
5 x-Atlanta Hawks 50 32 .610 12
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 47 35 .573 15
7 x-New York Knicks 43 39 .524 19
8 x-New Jersey Nets 43 39 .524 19
9 Washington Wizards 42 40 .512 20
10 Orlando Magic 41 41 .500 21
11 Detroit Pistons 37 45 .451 25
12 Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 26
13 Milwaukee Bucks 36 46 .439 26
14 Philadelphia 76ers 31 51 .378 31
15 Toronto Raptors 16 66 .195 46
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bo Outlaw PF 82 76 2,953 637 216 107 181 783 36.0 7.8 2.6 1.3 2.2 9.5
Horace Grant C 76 76 2,803 618 172 81 79 921 36.9 8.1 2.3 1.1 1.0 12.1
Danny Schayes C 74 33 1,272 242 44 34 33 406 17.2 3.3 .6 .5 .4 5.5
Gerald Wilkins SG 72 16 1,252 90 78 34 6 380 17.4 1.3 1.1 .5 .1 5.3
Derek Harper SG 66 45 1,761 103 233 72 10 566 26.7 1.6 3.5 1.1 .2 8.6
Mark Price PG 63 33 1,430 129 297 53 5 597 22.7 2.0 4.7 .8 .1 9.5
Nick Anderson SF 58 44 1,701 297 119 72 23 890 29.3 5.1 2.1 1.2 .4 15.3
Derek Strong PF 58 8 1,638 427 51 31 24 736 28.2 7.4 .9 .5 .4 12.7
Darrell Armstrong PG 48 17 1,236 159 236 58 5 442 25.8 3.3 4.9 1.2 .1 9.2
Rony Seikaly† C 47 47 1,484 357 69 25 39 704 31.6 7.6 1.5 .5 .8 15.0
Brian Evans† SF 44 0 561 85 31 22 8 206 12.8 1.9 .7 .5 .2 4.7
David Benoit† SF 24 0 324 62 8 9 4 138 13.5 2.6 .3 .4 .2 5.8
Penny Hardaway SG 19 15 625 76 68 28 15 311 32.9 4.0 3.6 1.5 .8 16.4
Kevin Ollie† PG 19 0 216 18 33 7 0 77 11.4 .9 1.7 .4 .0 4.1
Jason Lawson C 17 0 80 27 5 4 4 26 4.7 1.6 .3 .2 .2 1.5
Kevin Edwards† SG 12 0 135 20 13 5 1 59 11.3 1.7 1.1 .4 .1 4.9
Johnny Taylor SF 12 0 108 13 1 3 2 38 9.0 1.1 .1 .3 .2 3.2
Vernon Maxwell† SG 11 0 169 13 12 2 1 81 15.4 1.2 1.1 .2 .1 7.4
Spud Webb PG 4 0 34 3 5 1 0 12 8.5 .8 1.3 .3 .0 3.0
Carl Thomas† SG 4 0 15 0 1 0 1 9 3.8 .0 .3 .0 .3 2.3
Tim Kempton† PF 3 0 15 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 .3 .3 .0 .0 .0
Donald Royal† SF 2 0 18 4 1 1 0 5 9.0 2.0 .5 .5 .0 2.5
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Magic only.

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ 1997-98 Orlando Magic
  2. ^ Johnson, L.C. (June 4, 1997). "It's Official: Magic Land Chuck Daly as Coach". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Magic Names Chuck Daly Coach". The Washington Post. June 4, 1997. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Diamos, Jason (October 24, 1997). "PRO BASKETBALL; Daly Trying Again to Remold a Franchise". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  5. ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; Warriors Send Price to Magic". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 28, 1997. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Johnson, L.C. (October 28, 1997). "Magic Pay Price for Scoring". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  7. ^ Steele, David (October 28, 1997). "Warriors Ship Out Price; Point-Guard Glut Gone; Magic Deal Shaw, Vaughn". SFGate. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  8. ^ "PLUS: BASKETBALL; Dallas-Orlando Trade". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 25, 1997. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  9. ^ "Nelson Still Dealing, Gets Scott from Magic". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. September 25, 1997. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  10. ^ Johnson, L.C. (September 25, 1997). "Trade Lets Magic Get Rid of Scott". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  11. ^ Baker, Chris (September 6, 1997). "Just Like Magic, Versatile Outlaw Leaves Clippers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "Magic Corrals Outlaw". Tampa Bay Times. September 6, 1997. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  13. ^ "Outlaw Breaks Free to Spark Magic". Orlando Sentinel. November 9, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  14. ^ "Magic's Hardaway to Have Arthroscopic Surgery". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 10, 1997. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  15. ^ Povtak, Tim (December 10, 1997). "Surgery Assists Hardaway's Knee". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Johnson, L.C. (December 11, 1997). "Hardaway to Be Gone 8-10 Weeks". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  17. ^ "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Malone Helps Utah Pull Away". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 13, 1998. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  18. ^ Povtak, Tim (February 13, 1998). "Injury Ends Armstrong's Best Season". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  19. ^ Johnson, L.C. (January 15, 1998). "Maxwell Gets Set for 10 More Days". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  20. ^ "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Newly Signed Maxwell Delivers When It Counts". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 4, 1998. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  21. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 5, 1998". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  22. ^ "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Jazz Obtains Seikaly for Morris and Foster". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 17, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  23. ^ "Seikaly Traded to Jazz for Reserves". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 17, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  24. ^ Jorgensen, Loren (February 17, 1998). "Jazz Pull Off Steal of a Deal, Acquire Seikaly". Deseret News. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  25. ^ "Jazz Earns a Big Victory, But Seikaly Trade Voided". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 19, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  26. ^ Johnson, L.C. (February 19, 1998). "Seikaly Refuses to Play for Jazz". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  27. ^ Jorgensen, Loren (March 7, 1998). "Rony Seikaly Insists Jazz Nixed the Trade". Deseret News. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  28. ^ Popper, Steve (February 20, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; Seikaly Traded to Nets in a Last-Minute Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  29. ^ Heisler, Mark (February 20, 1998). "It's a Big Deal for Clippers: There Are No Slam Dunks in the Flurry of NBA Deals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  30. ^ Povtak, Tim (February 20, 1998). "Seikaly Bounces to Nets, and It Looks as If He'll Go". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  31. ^ Johnson, L.C. (February 20, 1998). "Magic Weigh Options". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  32. ^ "Webb Heads to Magic". United Press International. February 22, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  33. ^ "1997–98 Orlando Magic Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  34. ^ a b "1997–98 Orlando Magic Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  35. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 28, 1998). "Lakers Get Four-Star Rating as Van Exel, Jones Honored". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  36. ^ "1998 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  37. ^ "1998 NBA All-Star Game: East 135, West 114". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  38. ^ Povtak, Tim (May 1, 1998). "Hawks' Henderson Wins Most Improved". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  39. ^ a b "1997–98 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  40. ^ "1997–98 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  41. ^ "All-Star Mark Price Retires". CBS News. Associated Press. February 11, 1999. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  42. ^ Kawakami, Tim (January 20, 1999). "Good Signs for Lakers?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  43. ^ "NBA Transactions". The New York Times. January 22, 1999. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  44. ^ Wise, Mike (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
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