Worst moment in each NBA franchise’s history
By Brad Rowland
Orlando Magic – Shaq leaves for Los Angeles
During the summer of 1996, Shaquille O’Neal was on top of the NBA world. The Orlando Magic had reached the NBA Finals in 1995, and while things had not gone according to plan with a 4-0 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals, the pairing of O’Neal and Penny Hardaway looked to be in position to dominate the East for many years to come.
Shaq had other ideas.
O’Neal reached free agency after just four years in Orlando, and the minute he could jump ship, he did so with a seven-year, $120 million mega-deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Later, it would be revealed that O’Neal and Hardaway had not exactly seen eye to eye in the final days of their partnership with the Magic, and Penny would never reach his full potential as a result of injury issues. Still, the duo is a reminder of what could have been for the Magic, and Orlando has reached the NBA Finals only once since Shaq’s departure.
Quite obviously, things worked out in a big way for O’Neal, who holds four NBA Championship rings (three with the Lakers and one with the Miami Heat) and a one-way ticket to the Basketball Hall of Fame. His departure is a dark day for fans of the Orlando Magic, and even with some success, the franchise has not fully recovered despite attempts (remember the Grant Hill experiment?) at a big splash in the aftermath.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers