Orlando Magic Tickets

About Orlando Magic

Those first few seasons Orlando did not have the strongest teams, but Magic tickets sold nonetheless as the roster standouts –Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott, Scott Styles, and Reggie Theus- were able to entertain and compete despite the expected bad record. In the franchise’s third season the unknown future became clear. In the draft before the 1992-93 season began, the Magic won the number one pick and chose Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq’s imposing presence was felt early on, as the team improved by 20 wins and just missed the playoffs with a 41-41 record. Disappointed that the team did not have playoff tickets available to cap off a surprising season, the Orlando fans could not be angry when the Magic won the first round pick for the second year in a row. The team picked Chris Webber with the pick, but traded him to the Warriors for Anfernee Hardaway. Penny Hardaway and Shaq immediately became the most feared guard-center combination in the league.

The Magic responded by going 50-32 in the 1993-94 season. That season Magic tickets took fans to the playoffs for the first time. The young, inexperienced team was swept by the Pacers, but the addition of Horace Grant from the Bulls helped the club improve again, finishing 57-25 at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Bulls were finally out of the finals thanks to Jordan’s first retirement, and the Magic filled their void in the finals. The Magic lost to the Houston Rockets.

The next season Orlando was supposed to return to the NBA Finals, but the return of Michael Jordan to the Bulls for the 1995-96 season ruined those expectations. Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman met Shaq and Penny in the Eastern Conference finals and swept the Magic. That season would be the last that Magic tickets would behold O’Neal in the paint for Orlando. Shaq signed with the Lakers in the offseason following the conference finals.

The team was suddenly left with a void at center. The rest of the offseason was spent trying to simply fill the whole in the roster. Rony Seikaly was acquired in a trade with Golden State to play center. Hardaway, Seikaly, and Darrell Armstrong put together and emotional and surprising season for the Magic. Season tickets holders were shocked when they were watching a playoff team when they were expecting the lottery. The Magic made a spirited run, but ultimately lost in the first round to the cross state Heat.

In 1998-99 the players strike shortened the season and the Magic, with the addition of Matt Harpring and Michael Doleac, tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The season could not go on forever and playoff tickets in the first round witnessed an upset by the 76sers.

The team that showed so much promise in the ‘90s had missed their time and the front office began by tearing it apart, trading its talented players away. Magic tickets for the next few seasons gained entry to a hard working team that rookie head coach Doc Rivers turned into winners. The 2000-01 season was begun in the offseason before when the front office tried to attract Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady. Hill and McGrady accepted the offers and the free agents created a highly touted team to sell season tickets.

Hill’s battle with injury would ruin the well-laid plans. The addition of rookie Mike Miller to the mix could not take Orlando to the heights it had once known. Magic tickets promised the return of Hill every season, but Orlando could never fight its way out of the first round.

After spending the last few years trying to find the right pieces to put around McGrady, the new general manager, John Weisbrod, decided to simply start over. McGrady was traded along with Juwan Howard to receive Steve Francis and number of players in return. Francis, free agent Hedo Turkoglu, and many other players took the team to the lottery instead of the playoffs. The Magic tickets of the future were bet on Dwight Howard, the first pick in the draft.

Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu remained the key players on the Magic while they tried to come back from the resignation of the general manger that had begun the rebuilding process, but would not finish it. Magic tickets became something to talk about again in the 2007-08 season. Howard had blossomed since his rookie year and Turkoglu put together a season that earned him a starting spot. The addition of Rashard Lewis and the development of Jameer Nelson helped the Magic win their division and make a run into the Conferenec Semifinals for the first time in over a decade.