Orlando Magic: The Team That Shaq Once Called Home

The first NBA team that center Shaquille O'Neal joined is the team that plays out of the Amway Arena in Florida, the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic drafted the gigantic 7 feet and 1 inch Shaquille O'Neal in the NBA Draft of 1992. The Orlando Magic had the first pick for that draft and chose the player from the Louisiana State University as their newest member and this choice proved to be the best decision the team ever made.

The Orlando Magic saw a huge improvement in their games with the gigantic Shaq in their team and the choice of Shaq as their newest member resulted in the team being called the most improved that year and Shaquille O'Neal being named Rookie of the Year. They had hoped to make it to the playoffs that same year but sadly, the team failed to achieve that goal by the slightest of margins. The Orlando Magic did not get a playoff slot because of a tie with the Pacers for the 8th slot and the fact that they lost the tiebreaker put them out of position to compete for an NBA championship the first year Shaq was with the team.

The Orlando Magic became a team to watch in the following years after the ball club was able to get Penny Hardaway into the team with a trade. The combination of Shaq and Penny proved to be a match almost made in heaven as the Orlando Magic began to show the signs of a championship team in the making. After the team won a couple of division titles in 1995 and 1996 and a conference title in 1995, the team however failed to deliver when the Houston Rockets swept Shaq's team off the courts in the finals. After an upset to the Bulls in 1996, Shaquille O'Neal left the team in the off season and moved his ball playing skills to the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.