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1997–98 Orlando Magic season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season

The 1997–98 Orlando Magic season was the ninth season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association. 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. The team also acquired All-Star guard Mark Price from the Golden State Warriors, acquired Derek Harper from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed free agent Bo Outlaw.

Under Daly, the Magic got off to a solid 16–7 start to the regular season; however, they 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. The team then lost seven straight games 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. The Magic also 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.

At mid-season, the team traded Rony Seikaly to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Greg Foster and Chris Morris; however, the trade was voided due to Seikaly failing to report to the Jazz within the 48-hour deadline, because of a foot injury. 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. 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. The Magic held a 23–25 record at the All-Star break, 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.

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.

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. Anderson finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Outlaw finished tied in eighth place; 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.

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. Following the season, Price retired after twelve seasons in the NBA, while Harper signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Benoit and Edwards were both released to free agency.

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club team
117Johnny TaylorSFUnited StatesChattanooga
247Eric WashingtonSGUnited StatesAlabama

Roster

  • Chuck Daly
  • Tree Rollins
  • Tom Sterner
  • Brendan Suhr

Regular season

Season standings

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

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

PlayerPOSGPGSMPREBASTSTLBLKPTSMPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
PF**82****76****2,953****637**216**107****181**78336.07.82.61.3**2.2**9.5
C76**76**2,8036181728179**921****36.9****8.1**2.31.11.012.1
C74331,27224244343340617.23.3.6.5.45.5
SG72161,252907834638017.41.31.1.5.15.3
SG66451,761103233721056626.71.63.51.1.28.6
PG63331,430129**297**53559722.72.04.7.8.19.5
SF58441,701297119722389029.35.12.11.2.415.3
PF5881,63842751312473628.27.4.9.5.412.7
PG48171,23615923658544225.83.3**4.9**1.2.19.2
†C47471,48435769253970431.67.61.5.5.815.0
†SF440561853122820612.81.9.7.5.24.7
†SF2403246289413813.52.6.3.4.25.8
SG19156257668281531132.94.03.6**1.5**.8**16.4**
†PG1902161833707711.4.91.7.4.04.1
C1708027544264.71.6.3.2.21.5
†SG1201352013515911.31.71.1.4.14.9
SF12010813132389.01.1.1.3.23.2
†SG1101691312218115.41.21.1.2.17.4
PG40343510128.5.81.3.3.03.0
†SG4015010193.8.0.3.0.32.3
†PF3015110005.0.3.3.0.0.0
†SF2018411059.02.0.5.5.02.5
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Magic only.

Awards and honors

  • Penny Hardaway – All-Star

References

References

  1. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ORL/1998.html 1997-98 Orlando Magic]
  2. Johnson, L.C.. (June 4, 1997). "It's Official: Magic Land Chuck Daly as Coach". Orlando Sentinel.
  3. (June 4, 1997). "Magic Names Chuck Daly Coach". The Washington Post.
  4. Diamos, Jason. (October 24, 1997). "PRO BASKETBALL; Daly Trying Again to Remold a Franchise". The New York Times.
  5. (October 28, 1997). "PRO BASKETBALL; Warriors Send Price to Magic". The New York Times.
  6. Johnson, L.C.. (October 28, 1997). "Magic Pay Price for Scoring". Orlando Sentinel.
  7. Steele, David. (October 28, 1997). "Warriors Ship Out Price; Point-Guard Glut Gone; Magic Deal Shaw, Vaughn". SFGate.
  8. (September 25, 1997). "PLUS: BASKETBALL; Dallas-Orlando Trade". The New York Times.
  9. (September 25, 1997). "Nelson Still Dealing, Gets Scott from Magic". Los Angeles Times.
  10. Johnson, L.C.. (September 25, 1997). "Trade Lets Magic Get Rid of Scott". Orlando Sentinel.
  11. Baker, Chris. (September 6, 1997). "Just Like Magic, Versatile Outlaw Leaves Clippers". Los Angeles Times.
  12. (September 6, 1997). "Magic Corrals Outlaw". Tampa Bay Times.
  13. (November 9, 1997). "Outlaw Breaks Free to Spark Magic". Orlando Sentinel.
  14. (December 10, 1997). "Magic's Hardaway to Have Arthroscopic Surgery". Los Angeles Times.
  15. Povtak, Tim. (December 10, 1997). "Surgery Assists Hardaway's Knee". Orlando Sentinel.
  16. Johnson, L.C.. (December 11, 1997). "Hardaway to Be Gone 8-10 Weeks". Orlando Sentinel.
  17. (February 13, 1998). "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Malone Helps Utah Pull Away". The New York Times.
  18. Povtak, Tim. (February 13, 1998). "Injury Ends Armstrong's Best Season". Orlando Sentinel.
  19. Johnson, L.C.. (January 15, 1998). "Maxwell Gets Set for 10 More Days". Orlando Sentinel.
  20. (February 4, 1998). "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Newly Signed Maxwell Delivers When It Counts". The New York Times.
  21. (February 17, 1998). "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Jazz Obtains Seikaly for Morris and Foster". The New York Times.
  22. (February 17, 1998). "Seikaly Traded to Jazz for Reserves". Los Angeles Times.
  23. Jorgensen, Loren. (February 17, 1998). "Jazz Pull Off Steal of a Deal, Acquire Seikaly". Deseret News.
  24. (February 19, 1998). "Jazz Earns a Big Victory, But Seikaly Trade Voided". Los Angeles Times.
  25. Johnson, L.C.. (February 19, 1998). "Seikaly Refuses to Play for Jazz". Orlando Sentinel.
  26. Jorgensen, Loren. (March 7, 1998). "Rony Seikaly Insists Jazz Nixed the Trade". Deseret News.
  27. Popper, Steve. (February 20, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; Seikaly Traded to Nets in a Last-Minute Deal". The New York Times.
  28. 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.
  29. Povtak, Tim. (February 20, 1998). "Seikaly Bounces to Nets, and It Looks as If He'll Go". Orlando Sentinel.
  30. Johnson, L.C.. (February 20, 1998). "Magic Weigh Options". Orlando Sentinel.
  31. (February 22, 1998). "Webb Heads to Magic". United Press International.
  32. "NBA Games Played on February 5, 1998". Basketball-Reference.
  33. "1997–98 Orlando Magic Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
  34. "1997–98 Orlando Magic Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
  35. Howard-Cooper, Scott. (January 28, 1998). "Lakers Get Four-Star Rating as Van Exel, Jones Honored". Los Angeles Times.
  36. (September 13, 2021). "1998 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
  37. "1998 NBA All-Star Game: East 135, West 114". Basketball-Reference.
  38. Povtak, Tim. (May 1, 1998). "Hawks' Henderson Wins Most Improved". Orlando Sentinel.
  39. "1997–98 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
  40. "1997–98 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
  41. (February 11, 1999). "All-Star Mark Price Retires". CBS News.
  42. Kawakami, Tim. (January 20, 1999). "Good Signs for Lakers?". Los Angeles Times.
  43. (January 22, 1999). "NBA Transactions". The New York Times.
  44. Wise, Mike. (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times.
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