1992–93 Orlando Magic season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the Magic's fourth season in the National Basketball Association.[1] This season held a lot of promise as Shaquille O'Neal was drafted first overall by the Magic in the 1992 NBA draft. Meanwhile, the Magic signed free agent Donald Royal during the offseason. There were predictions that O'Neal would become the next dominant center in the NBA.[2] Shaq became an instant superstar with merchandising that rivaled only Michael Jordan. The Magic started to show improvement winning eight of their first eleven games, but then lost six straight afterwards. In December, the team acquired Steve Kerr from the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Magic had various problems with injuries as midway through the season, Dennis Scott ruptured his Achilles tendon. The Magic lost a tie-breaker for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference to the Indiana Pacers with a 41–41 record.

1992–93 Orlando Magic season
Head coachMatt Guokas
ArenaOrlando Arena
Results
Record41–41 (.500)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Atlantic)
Conference: 9th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWKCF
Sunshine Network
RadioWDBO

O'Neal averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game as he was named Rookie of The Year. He was also selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game.[3] Following the season, Kerr signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls, head coach Matt Guokas was fired and Terry Catledge retired.

Draft picks
Main article: 1992 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 1 Shaquille O'Neal C  United States LSU

Roster
Roster listing
Orlando Magic roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 25 Anderson, Nick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Illinois
SG 14 Bowie, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oklahoma
PF 33 Catledge, Terry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) South Alabama
PG 11 Green, Litterial 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Georgia
SG 2 Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arizona
C 34 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) BYU
C 32 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 300 lb (136 kg) LSU
SF 5 Royal, Donald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Notre Dame
SF 3 Scott, Dennis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Georgia Tech
PG 4 Skiles, Scott 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Michigan State
PF 40 Tolbert, Tom 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arizona
PF 31 Turner, Jeff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Vanderbilt
PF 8 Williams, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arizona
PF 42 Wright, Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Stanford
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Shaquille O'Neal was drafted as the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. During that summer, prior to moving to Orlando, he spent a significant amount of time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal had an exceptional rookie season, as he helped the Magic win 20 more games than the previous season, with the team ultimately missing the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. O'Neal averaged 23.4 points and 13.9 rebounds per game for the season and was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year. O'Neal played in the All-Star game and scored 14 points. On two occasions during that season, each during a nationally televised game, O'Neal dunked the ball so hard that he broke the backboard support units.

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New York Knicks6022.732—37–423–1823–5
x-Boston Celtics4834.5851228–1320–2119–9
x-New Jersey Nets4339.5241726–1517–2414–14
Orlando Magic4141.5001927–1414–2715–13
Miami Heat3646.4392426–1510–319–19
Philadelphia 76ers2656.3173415–2611–3011–17
Washington Bullets2260.2683815–267–347–21
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-New York Knicks6022.732–
2 y-Chicago Bulls5725.6953
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers5428.6596
4 x-Boston Celtics4834.58512
5 x-Charlotte Hornets4438.53716
6 x-New Jersey Nets4339.52417
7 x-Atlanta Hawks4339.52417
8 x-Indiana Pacers4141.50019
9 Orlando Magic4141.50019
10 Detroit Pistons4042.48820
11 Miami Heat3646.43924
12 Milwaukee Bucks2854.34132
13 Philadelphia 76ers2656.31736
14 Washington Bullets2260.26838
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1992–93 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–23–22–20–51–12–02–32–01–12–21–11–13–13–22–01–32–21–33–10–21–11–12–01–12–02–2
Boston 2–2—3–11–33–12–02–01–32–01–12–21–11–13–12–22–04–01–43–24–10–22–01–11–10–20–24–1
Charlotte 2–31–3—2–31–32–01–14–12–00–20–51–11–12–23–12–02–21–33–14–00–21–12–01–11–11–14–0
Chicago 2–23–13–2—2–32–01–13–12–00–25–02–00–23–14–12–04–01–33–12–21–12–02–00–22–02–04–0
Cleveland 5–01–33–13–2—2–01–13–22–01–14–01–12–02–24–12–02–21–32–24–02–00–21–11–11–11–13–1
Dallas 1–10–20–20–20–2—1–51–10–41–41–10–41–30–20–21–40–20–21–11–10–40–40–40–51–30–51–1
Denver 0–20–21–11–11–15–1—1–13–12–31–12–21–30–21–13–21–11–10–21–11–31–33–11–41–32–32–0
Detroit 3–23–11–41–32–31–11–1—0–21–13–21–11–11–32–21–13–12–23–13–10–21–12–00–20–20–24–0
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–24–01–32–0—2–20–22–31–42–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–40–54–13–11–43–11–1
Houston 1–11–12–02–01–14–13–21–12–2—2–04–03–12–01–14–21–11–11–12–02–21–34–04–11–34–11–1
Indiana 2–22–25–00–50–41–11–12–32–00–2—1–11–12–22–31–13–11–32–23–11–11–12–01–12–00–23–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–11–10–21–14–02–21–13–20–41–1—3–20–22–04–00–22–01–11–13–22–33–20–41–42–22–0
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–12–00–23–13–11–14–11–31–12–3—0–21–13–10–20–21–12–00–53–23–22–21–41–32–0
Miami 1–31–32–21–32–22–02–03–10–20–22–22–02–0—2–22–02–30–53–21–30–21–11–11–11–10–22–3
Milwaukee 2–32–21–31–41–42–01–12–21–11–13–20–21–12–2—1–10–41–32–22–20–20–21–10–20–20–21–3
Minnesota 0–20–20–20–20–24–12–31–11–32–41–10–41–30–21–1—1–10–20–20–20–41–31–31–40–41–41–1
New Jersey 3–10–42–20–42–22–01–11–31–11–11–32–02–03–24–01–1—1–33–23–21–10–22–01–11–11–14–1
New York 2–24–13–13–13–12–01–12–22–01–13–10–22–05–03–12–03–1—2–25–01–11–12–02–01–11–14–1
Orlando 3–12–31–31–32–21–12–01–31–11–12–21–11–12–32–22–02–32–2—3–20–22–02–00–20–21–14–0
Philadelphia 1–31–40–42–20–41–11–11–31–10–21–31–10–23–12–22–02–30–52–3—0–20–21–10–21–10–23–1
Phoenix 2–02–02–01–10–24–03–12–04–12–21–12–35–02–02–04–01–11–12–02–0—3–25–03–12–33–12–0
Portland 1–10–21–10–22–04–03–11–15–03–11–13–22–31–12–03–12–01–10–22–02–3—5–02–22–32–21–1
Sacramento 1–11–10–20–21–14–01–30–21–40–40–22–32–31–11–13–10–20–20–21–10–50–5—2–21–42–21–1
San Antonio 0–21–11–12–01–15–04–12–01–31–41–14–02–21–12–04–11–10–22–02–01–32–22–2—3–13–31–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–13–13–12–04–13–10–24–14–11–12–04–01–11–12–01–13–23–24–11–3—2–22–0
Utah 0–22–01–10–21–15–03–22–01–31–42–02–23–12–02–04–11–11–11–12–01–32–22–23–32–2—1–1
Washington 2–21–40–40–41–31–10–20–41–11–11–30–20–23–23–11–11–41–40–41–30–21–11–11–10–21–1—

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Nick Anderson7947726512856157419.9
Shaquille O'Neal81112215260286189323.4

Awards and honors
  • Shaquille O'Neal, NBA Rookie of the Year
  • Shaquille O'Neal, NBA All-Rookie Team

NBA All-Star Game

References
  1. 1992-93 Orlando Magic
  2. Moran, Malcolm (May 18, 1992). "The Top Pick Is Going to Disney World". The New York Times.
  3. Orlando Magic (1989-Present)
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