The Orlando Magic’s best regular-season finish was winning the Eastern Conference’s top spot in the 1994-1995 season. They reached the NBA Finals but lost to the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets in a four-game sweep.
The Magic reached second in the conference the following year but faltered in the Eastern Conference Finals to the resurgent Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The centerpiece of Orlando’s success at the time was Shaquille O’Neal, their No. 1 pick from the 1992 NBA draft.
O’Neal’s impact on the franchise can be understood by looking at the timeline. It took over 10 years for Orlando to become a dominant force again after his departure. Incidentally, Dwight Howard, another elite center, was the team’s superstar during that later resurgence.
The Magic’s championship window with O’Neal was brief but memorable. Their 1994-95 season saw them post a franchise-record 57-25 record, earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference. That team featured the dynamic duo of O’Neal and Penny Hardaway, complemented by veteran additions like Horace Grant.
Magic might not have gotten O’Neal at all. The draft lottery system nearly prevented one of the most important selections in franchise history.
When Orlando Magic Feared They Would Lose Shaquille O’Neal
Before the 1992 NBA draft, everybody wanted O’Neal to be on their team. The dominant center had proved his mettle during his time with the LSU Tigers. Already a phenom during high school, O’Neal’s collegiate career solidified his status as the hottest prospect in the 1992 draft.
The lottery system in 1992 was different from today’s format. Teams with worse records had better odds, but the disparity wasn’t as pronounced as current systems. Orlando, despite being an expansion team in just their fourth season, faced long odds.
In addition to the Magic, the Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, and Minnesota Timberwolves had the best chances of acquiring the first pick and O’Neal. In a 2016 interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Orlando Magic senior vice president Pat Williams disclosed that the Mavericks and Hornets executives even did superstitious things to acquire O’Neal.
Unfortunately for those franchises, neither got the top draft pick. It came down to the Magic and Timberwolves, and Orlando only had one in eleven chances of getting the first pick. The ping-pong balls fell their way.
Despite getting the number one pick, Williams wasn’t confident about landing O’Neal. “He was very standoffish,” Williams said of Leonard Armato, then-agent of O’Neal, who wanted his client to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, Williams saw O’Neal as the franchise cornerstone and had no intention of trading the center away. A couple of days before the draft, Williams flew in O’Neal, his stepfather Philip Harrison, and his younger half-brother Jamal to make their plans clear. The interaction went smoothly, though not without some memorable moments.
Technical Difficulties Nearly Derailed History
After this successful visit, an unexpected problem arose on draft day, held in Portland. The late David Stern, then commissioner, kicked off the event, announcing that the Magic had five minutes to pick.
It should have been an easy formality. Williams only needed to call the Magic’s representative in Portland to relay their selection to the commissioner. Unfortunately, their call didn’t pass through due to a technical problem. Engineers tried their best to no avail.
“Now there’s a minute left to go and I’m thinking, ‘This is going to be the biggest faux pas in the history of our sport.’ What if we can’t make our pick?” Williams said.
Alex Martins, the current Magic CEO, was a public relations director at that time. He used his personal Nokia mobile phone to call the NBA’s office in New York to relay their decision. The technology was cutting-edge for 1992, but cell phones were still relatively uncommon.
“It was getting close. I think it was down to about 20 seconds. I don’t know what they would have done if we didn’t get the pick in on time,” Williams added.
The drama wasn’t lost on those involved. More than 10,000 Magic fans had packed Orlando Arena to watch the draft selection live on video screens, unaware of the technical difficulties unfolding behind the scenes.
Interestingly, Stern had no recollection of the incident being this dramatic when ESPN approached him years later. Similar was the case for Russ Granik, the then-deputy commissioner. This suggests the crisis was handled more smoothly than Williams remembered, or that such technical issues weren’t uncommon in that era.
While Williams and Magic executives feared losing O’Neal, the young center also had similar concerns. “I wasn’t going to believe it ’til I heard it myself. They could have changed their mind and gone for (Alonzo) Mourning or (Christian) Laettner,” O’Neal said.
The 1992 draft was considered one of the deepest in NBA history. Besides O’Neal, it featured future Hall of Famers Alonzo Mourning and Christian Laettner, plus several players who would have solid NBA careers.
In the end, everything worked perfectly for Orlando. After four years with the Magic, O’Neal achieved his greatest success with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning three NBA championships and becoming Finals MVP in all three victories. He was also the regular-season MVP in 2000.
O’Neal’s career continued with stops in Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston before retiring in 2011. His time with the Heat brought him a fourth championship in 2006, proving his championship pedigree extended beyond his Lakers years.
Pat Williams retired from his sports executive career in April 2019. He passed away on July 17, 2024, due to complications from viral pneumonia. His legacy in Orlando sports extends far beyond the O’Neal draft, as he was instrumental in bringing professional basketball to Central Florida.
