I would have never thought I would be posting an expansion team as the eighth team page on our website. But in their short history, the Orlando Magic have accomplished a lot here at Rewritten Rings.
This is our first team page in which the franchise's history has been completely rewritten. The previous seven team pages we posted all had histories that existed before the beginning of our timeline in 1983–84. The Magic are different. Their history begins right here.
The franchise's story starts with the 1989–90 season, when the Magic won just 18 games in real life, behind past stars like Reggie Theus. Here in our universe, the similarities are hard to ignore, as Orlando won just 13 games, behind past stars like Bill Cartwright.
The pattern continued in both worlds as we fast forward to 1992, when the Magic held the No. 1 overall pick in each timeline. As we know, they selected Shaquille O'Neal, and in our universe, the same thing happened.
The 1992–93 season is where our story begins to separate from reality. Despite going 41–41 during his rookie season, Shaq and the Magic still missed the playoffs in reality. Here, however, we have a very different story to tell.
Orlando finished 44–38, good enough for the No. 6 seed, and powered by Shaq, along with other stars like Glenn Rice and Kevin Johnson and veteran Fat Lever, the Magic pulled off a first-round upset. The Rookie of the Year Shaq propelled Orlando past league MVP Reggie Miller and the New Jersey Nets.
The following year, the roles were reversed. In reality, Shaq and the Magic made the playoffs, while in our universe they won just 33 games and found themselves back in the lottery. They ended up with the No. 2 overall pick and selected Grant Hill.
Somehow, the Magic would have an even worse season the following year, winning just 28 games.
In reality, the Magic would eventually pair Shaq with Penny Hardaway and make it all the way to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. That would remain their best finish for several years, as Shaq ultimately moved on to the Lakers for the 1996–97 season.
Our universe was about to take a very different path.
Here, Penny Hardaway was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks, but Orlando's fortunes were about to change. The Magic landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 draft, but instead of making the selection themselves, they traded it to Boston for Shawn Kemp.
Now Orlando had a formidable lineup featuring Grant Hill, Glenn Rice, Shawn Kemp, and Shaq.
The result was the best season in franchise history. The Magic won 51 games and finished atop the Atlantic Division. Having never advanced beyond the Conference Semifinals, expectations were still relatively low.
The Magic quickly changed that.
In the first round, Shaq and Orlando got revenge on David Robinson and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the same team that had swept them in the 1993 Semifinals.
They followed that up by defeating John Stockton and the Washington Bullets in five games, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
And there it was: Penny vs. Shaq.
Both players had finally led their teams to the mountaintop of the Eastern Conference, but Orlando had the deeper squad. The Magic eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, sending Shaq and Orlando to the NBA Finals for the first time ever.
Waiting for them were the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Alonzo Mourning, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1992 draft. Like Orlando, Minnesota was making its first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals.
The Magic won the Finals in six games, giving Shaquille O'Neal his first NBA championship and bringing a title to Orlando—something he was unable to accomplish in real life.
The following season, the Magic finished atop the Eastern Conference and once again found themselves in the NBA Finals. This time, there would be no six-game series.
Shaq and the Magic swept the Portland Trail Blazers, led by 36-year-old Isiah Thomas, to capture another championship. In this universe, that would be Thomas' one and only NBA Finals appearance.
The Magic entered the following season with an opportunity to chase a three-peat, but like many teams attempting the same feat in our universe, they lost a key player in free agency. Shawn Kemp left for Detroit, leaving a major void in the Orlando lineup.
It didn't matter.
Shaq still carried the Magic back to the Eastern Conference Finals, but this time David Robinson and the Cleveland Cavaliers got the better of them, ending Orlando's championship hopes.
The Magic then missed the playoffs entirely in 1999, following the departure of Grant Hill, who left for Golden State.
Shaq remained in Orlando, however, and the Magic returned to the playoffs over the next two seasons. Unfortunately, both postseason runs ended against the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
In 2000, Orlando fell to Boston in the first round. The following year, the Magic pulled off an upset over the No. 4 seed Philadelphia 76ers, but once again their run ended at the hands of the Celtics, this time in the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
In just a little over a decade, the Orlando Magic have gone from an expansion franchise struggling to find its footing to a two-time NBA champion, with Shaquille O'Neal at the center of it all.
Their history may be the shortest of any franchise we've covered so far, but it has already produced some of the biggest moments in the Rewritten Rings universe.
Check back for future updates as we continue to rewrite the history of the Magic and discover what comes next in this alternate basketball universe.
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