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1996–97 Orlando Magic season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season

Brian Hill (fired)

Richie Adubato (interim) Sunshine Network (lost to Heat 2–3)

The 1996–97 Orlando Magic season was the eighth season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association. 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, and signed free agents Gerald Wilkins, Derek Strong, and Danny Schayes. However, after only playing just one game for the team, Spencer was then dealt along with Donald Royal and Jon Koncak to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Rony Seikaly.

Early into the regular season, the Magic played two games overseas against the New Jersey Nets in Tokyo, Japan, winning both games. After an 8–4 start in November, the Magic struggled losing 10 of their 12 games in December, and held a 24–20 record at the All-Star break. The team lost five straight games after the All-Star break, as head coach Brian Hill was fired 49 games into the season, and Penny Hardaway was generally blamed for leading a player revolt that resulted in his dismissal. Hill was replaced with assistant Richie Adubato for the remainder of the season, as the Magic finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 45–37 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

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, while Seikaly averaged 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and Horace 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.

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. 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.

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. After losing 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 the next two games at home at the Orlando Arena to tie the series at 2–2; Penny Hardaway scored 42 points in Game 3, and 41 points in Game 4. However, the Magic lost Game 5 on the road to the Heat, 91–83, thus losing in a full five-game series. 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. 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; he was later on traded to the Dallas Mavericks after seven seasons in Orlando. Meanwhile, Shaw was dealt to the Golden State Warriors, and Adubato was fired as head coach.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club team
127Brian EvansSFUnited StatesIndiana
249Amal McCaskillCUnited StatesMarquette

Roster

  • Brian Hill (fired)
  • Richie Adubato (interim)
  • Tree Rollins
  • Tom Sterner

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 24 | @ Miami | L 64–99 | Derek Strong (15) | Nick Anderson (12) | Penny Hardaway (3) | Miami Arena 15,200 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 27 | @ Miami | L 87–104 | Penny Hardaway (26) | Derek Strong (16) | Brian Shaw (4) | Miami Arena 15,200 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 29 | Miami | W 88–75 | Penny Hardaway (42) | Penny Hardaway (8) | Darrell Armstrong (8) | Orlando Arena 17,248 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 1 | Miami | W 99–91 | Penny Hardaway (41) | Darrell Armstrong (9) | Penny Hardaway (4) | Orlando Arena 16,555 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | May 4 | @ Miami | L 83–91 | Penny Hardaway (33) | Derek Strong (12) | Penny Hardaway (6) | Miami Arena 15,200

2–3

Player statistics

Regular season

PlayerPOSGPGSMPREBASTSTLBLKPTSMPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
PF**82**212,00451973472069924.46.3.9.6.28.5
SG80262,202173173541284827.52.22.2.7.210.6
PG77311,867194319672655224.22.54.1.9.37.2
C74**68****2,615****701**9249**107****1,277**35.3**9.5**1.2.7**1.4**17.3
PF67672,4966001631016584537.39.02.41.51.012.6
PG6701,0107617561941115.11.12.6.9.16.1
SF66622,166203139741982332.83.12.11.1.312.5
SG63612,163304182**120**3275734.34.82.9**1.9**.512.0
PG59592,221263**332**93351,210**37.6**4.5**5.6**1.6.6**20.5**
PF45654012514151613312.02.8.3.3.43.0
PF356298957815818.52.7.2.2.42.3
C17110922735286.41.3.4.2.31.6
SF140598712204.2.6.5.1.11.4
†PG60472400177.8.3.7.0.02.8
SG2010001025.0.0.0.5.01.0
†SF112911001229.01.01.0.0.012.0
†C11196100419.06.01.0.0.04.0
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Magic only.

Playoffs

PlayerPOSGPGSMPREBASTSTLBLKPTSMPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
PG**5****5****220**30**17****12**7**155****44.0**6.0**3.4****2.4**1.4**31.0**
PF**5****5**195**50**4226139.0**10.0**.8.4.412.2
SG**5****5**1302933**9**2826.05.8.6.6**1.8**5.6
PG**5**48298111016.41.81.6.2.22.0
PF**5**292125212218.42.41.0.4.24.4
SF**5**19495201518.81.81.0.4.03.0
SG**5**014494024728.81.8.8.0.49.4
PG**5**014321**17**815728.64.2**3.4**1.6.211.4
C3386160131928.75.3.0.31.06.3
C207310053.51.5.5.0.02.5
SF207021023.5.01.0.5.01.0

Awards and honors

  • Penny Hardaway – All-NBA Third Team, All-Star

References

References

  1. "1996-97 Orlando Magic".
  2. Evans, Richard. (August 10, 1996). "Jazz Deal Away Spencer in Trade with Orlando". Deseret News.
  3. (August 10, 1996). "Jazz, Magic Make Trade". The Spokesman-Review.
  4. Povtak, Tim. (August 11, 1996). "It's Spencer for Hire". Orlando Sentinel.
  5. (August 1, 1996). "League Voids Howard's Contract with Heat". Tampa Bay Times.
  6. (August 1, 1996). "Orlando Signs Gerald Wilkins". United Press International.
  7. Povtak, Tim. (November 13, 1996). "Wilkins Is Back Knock on Wood". Orlando Sentinel.
  8. Povtak, Tim. (August 27, 1996). "Magic Add Strong, Delete Wolf". Orlando Sentinel.
  9. (August 27, 1996). "Furthermore". The Washington Post.
  10. Johnson, L.C.. (October 23, 1996). "Heat's Hardaway Less Than Impressed". Orlando Sentinel.
  11. (November 3, 1996). "Seikaly Traded to the Magic". The New York Times.
  12. (November 3, 1996). "Seikaly Gets Wish, Goes to Magic". Los Angeles Times.
  13. Johnson, L.C.. (November 3, 1996). "All Aboard...Seikaly". Orlando Sentinel.
  14. Pollack, Andrew. (November 8, 1996). "Before 38,600 Fans in Tokyo, Nets Run Out of Luck". The New York Times.
  15. Johnson, L.C.. (November 8, 1996). "Magic Beat the Clock, the Nets". Orlando Sentinel.
  16. (November 9, 1996). "Hardaway Leads Magic to Sweep of the Nets". The New York Times.
  17. "NBA Games Played on February 6, 1997". Basketball-Reference.
  18. (February 19, 1997). "Magic Complaints Send Hill Packing". The New York Times.
  19. Guest, Larry. (March 31, 1997). "The Last Days of Brian Hill". Orlando Sentinel.
  20. (April 1, 1997). "Magic Players Were United Against Hill". Los Angeles Times.
  21. "1996–97 Orlando Magic Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
  22. Johnson, L.C.. (November 16, 1996). "Surgery to Sideline Hardaway 2-6 Weeks". Orlando Sentinel.
  23. Fry, Darrell. (November 16, 1996). "Magic Now a Penny Short". Tampa Bay Times.
  24. (December 19, 1996). "Hardaway on Injured List". The New York Times.
  25. "1996–97 Orlando Magic Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
  26. Fry, Darrell. (February 8, 1997). "On to the Next Stage". Tampa Bay Times.
  27. (September 13, 2021). "1997 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
  28. "1997 NBA All-Star Game: East 132, West 120". Basketball-Reference.
  29. "1996–97 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
  30. Perkins, Chris. (April 25, 1997). "Grant Misses Opener with Wrist Injury". Sun Sentinel.
  31. Povtak, Tim. (April 30, 1997). "Grant Accuses Team of Fouling Up Injury". Orlando Sentinel.
  32. Perkins, Chris. (April 30, 1997). "Doctors Debate Grant Injury". Sun Sentinel.
  33. (April 30, 1997). "Hardaway Scores 42 to Keep Magic Alive". The Washington Post.
  34. (May 2, 1997). "Magic 99, Heat 91". The Washington Post.
  35. Wine, Steven. (May 4, 1997). "Heat 91, Magic 83". The Washington Post.
  36. Brown, Clifton. (May 5, 1997). "The Other Hardaway Insures a Heat-Knicks Series". The New York Times.
  37. "1997 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Magic vs. Heat". Basketball-Reference.
  38. "1996–97 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
  39. (July 12, 1997). "Magic's Scott Expresses "Rage," Abruptly Departs Youth Camp". The Washington Post.
  40. (July 13, 1997). "Scott Gives Himself a Bad Rap". Orlando Sentinel.
  41. Asher, Mark. (July 16, 1997). "Scott Says Drug Question Triggered Camp Outburst". The Washington Post.
  42. (September 25, 1997). "PLUS: BASKETBALL; Dallas-Orlando Trade". The New York Times.
  43. (September 25, 1997). "Nelson Still Dealing, Gets Scott from Magic". Los Angeles Times.
  44. Johnson, L.C.. (September 25, 1997). "Trade Lets Magic Get Rid of Scott". Orlando Sentinel.
  45. (October 28, 1997). "PRO BASKETBALL; Warriors Send Price to Magic". The New York Times.
  46. Johnson, L.C.. (October 28, 1997). "Magic Pay Price for Scoring". Orlando Sentinel.
  47. Steele, David. (October 28, 1997). "Warriors Ship Out Price; Point-Guard Glut Gone; Magic Deal Shaw, Vaughn". SFGate.
  48. Dame, Mike. (May 5, 1997). "Magic Players Want to Keep Adubato Around". Orlando Sentinel.
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