The 1995–96 NBA season was the Magic's seventh season in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Magic signed unrestricted free agentJon Koncak. Coming off their trip to the NBA Finals, where they were swept in four games by the Houston Rockets, the Magic won their second straight Atlantic Division title with a 60–22 record, a regular season record which still stands as the best in franchise history. This despite missing Shaquille O'Neal for the first 22 games of the season due to a thumb injury. Anfernee Hardaway stepped up in O'Neal's absence and was awarded Player of the Month for November. The season saw Dennis Scott take a place in the league history books by scoring 267 three-point field goals, a single season record since broken by Stephen Curry, while O'Neal and Hardaway were both selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game. Despite the franchise best record, the Magic were beaten by the top seed in the East, the dominant Chicago Bulls, who finished with a then all-time best record of 72–10. In the playoffs, the Magic would sweep the Detroit Pistons in three straight games in the opening round. In the semifinals, they defeated the 6th-seeded Atlanta Hawks in five games, despite losing Game 4 at The Omni in Atlanta 104–99. The Eastern Conference Finals matched up the Magic with the Bulls, the team they had eliminated in the previous year's playoffs. This year though, the Bulls would be too strong sweeping the Magic 4–0. Thereby, the Magic became the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs in a sweep for three consecutive seasons since the 1950 Chicago Stags. Following the season, the All-Star center O'Neal left the team, signing as a free agent for the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Bowie was released, and Koncak was traded to the Golden State Warriors.
Draft picks
Round
Pick
Player
Position
Nationality
School/Club Team
1
25
David Vaughn
PF
United States
Memphis
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
The Magic opened up their playoffs campaign on April 26 against the Detroit Pistons, a game they won convincingly 112-92 at home in the Orlando Arena. The Magic would also win game 2 at home before clinching the series, and a sweep, of the Pistons in game 3 away from home at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The second round put the Magic against the Atlanta Hawks. The Magic opened the series with two convincing wins at home, both with scoring margins greater than 20 points. The Magic carried this momentum into game 3 away from home at the Omni, winning a closer fought match 102-96. The Hawks won game 4, avoiding the sweep, but the Magic were too strong and won game 5 at home to clinch the series 4-1. The Eastern Conference finals saw the Magic face the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, a team they had eliminated in the previous years playoffs. The dominant Chicago Bulls would prove to be too strong for the Orlando Magic this year, sweeping the series 4-0 and denying the Magic consecutive trips to the NBA finals.
