Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team competes in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The Magic play their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
Orlando entered the NBA for the 1989-1990 season. The team won division championships in the 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 seasons and the conference title in 1994-1995. Stars of those teams included center Shaquille O’Neal, guard Anfernee Hardaway, and forwards Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott. O’Neal left the team as a free agent after the 1995-1996 season.
In the early 2000’s, Orlando rebuilt the team around forward Tracy McGrady, one of the NBA’s most exciting players. McGrady left Orlando to play for the Houston Rockets following the 2003-2004 season. The Magic then drafted a new star, forward-center Dwight Howard, in 2004. Orlando won its division in the 2007-2008 season and won the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996. The Detroit Pistons defeated the Magic in the second round. Orlando won the Eastern Conference championship in 2008-2009, led by Howard and forwards Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals, four games to one. The 2009-2010 team finished first in its division but lost in the conference finals. Center Nikola Vučević was the team’s top player in the 2010’s.
See also O’Neal, Shaquille.
