Swept 0-4 in 1995, but the players roster was obviously more stacked with Penny and Shaq, compared to just Dwight in 2009.
Shaq and (peak) Penny were obviously/arguably bigger stars than Dwight ever was.
JUST Dwight?! Sir, please do not disrespect Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Plus one of the deepest, most compete teams in franchise history.
I was too young for 1995, that team was crazy though. But in 2009 I felt we had a good chance. Dwight was a top 2 or 3 player, Hedo and Rashard were deadeyes with Hedo also being an unreal playmaker and steady force in close 4th quarter games. Then we just had an assortment of hustle and shooters as key role players around Dwight.
I know we only took one game but there were some close games in the series that just fell apart at the end.
Nobody thought Dwight was at Kobe - LeBron level. Not even Wade’s
I never watched 1995, nor knew that basketball existed. But 2009 I felt like every game was close and we could have won’t like two games. If it wasn’t for some mistakes
1995
I’m not a Magic fan, but in 1995 I thought the Magic were going to be a dynasty.
95 for sure. Finals felt like a learning experience after sweeping rockets in regular season. Got past Jordan in the playoffs. Penny and shaq were getting better.
Then Nick Anderson never recovered, Jordan did, shaq left, penny led a mutiny against Brian hill and it all falls apart
It’s difficult to gauge.
I’m a big Dwight non-fan but him taking Jameer, Rashard and Hedo to the finals was pretty impressive.
I feel like they had a better chance than pre-peak Shaq against absolute peak Dream.
There are like 5 people on this sub who can answer this honestly.
Hey I was alive then, I was just a baby tho
I was 4 lol.
Now ask me about whether I felt closer as a Warriors fan to a chip in 1995 or 2009.
I was a barely alive in 95 but no one really thought we were gonna beat the lakers in 09 but in 95 we were the favorites
Both were entertaining playoff runs. Both had defining moments that changed the outlook of the finals
Not a Magic fan, but ‘95 definitely felt closer. They had just beat friggin’ Jordan and the Bulls. And while you could say Hakeem and Shaq were more or less equals, Penny was better than the 1995 version of Drexler or any other player on the Rockets. I don’t remember the actual odds, but I feel like the Magic were the favorites going into those finals, even though they ended up getting swept.
2009, it felt like they had a very promising future. Turns out, 2009 ended up being the peak for those the Dwight-led Magic teams. But at the time, it looked like they were gonna compete for the championships for years to come, this just wasn’t their time yet.
95 easily
C’mon man. There’s barely any Magic fans as is on this sub and definitely not any old enough to remember 1995.
I remember. I was 10 years old and a Penny fiend.
Shaq bandwagon fan, then a Memphis State/Penny guy (years before the Grizzlies relocated) so, duh.
Penny/Shaq is still the best synergistic young duo I have ever seen.
Nick Anderson bricked 4 straight free throws.
Shaq signing with the Lakers ended a “sure thing” Orlando Magic dynasty, but Dennis Rodman getting traded to the Bulls gave Chicago the edge (at least short-term/intermediate term) over Orlando.
Well, that’s the NBA. You just never know.
Lmao, I had to double check I wasn’t on the magic sub after reading this post title
I got to watch Magic legends Terry Catledge, Reggie Theus and Dave Corzine. 95’s missed free throws were worse than the Howard Finals loss. Had Devos paid Shaq there would have been a great Bulls-Magic rivalry. we had eliminated them when Jordan came back, they got us the next year…then our owner felt Shaq wasn’t worth $100 million.
Reggie Theus was once the Chicago Bulls’ best player; he was traded because he wanted to remain the team’s number one option over some rookie named Michael Jordan (Dave Corzine was also on the Bulls at the time)
Went to KC I believe. I met him in a gun store back in 89.
Tbf, certainly seems like a lot of old Magic “fans” from that era are now conveniently fans of other teams. We lost a lot of bandwagon fans over the years.
I was 6 in 1995 so I don’t have any recollection of watching that team play, I did watch the videos after the fact though and they were special. Shaq and Penny (then Grant Hill joined before his career was crippled with injury) could have been an all-time dynasty level team if kept together.
All of that said 2009 feels so special to me though that run to the finals was one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen, yeah the outcome was poor but even the final games we lost could have gone our way easily.