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ESPN 30 for 30’s “This Magic Moment” premieres April 14

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mar 27, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal is introduced as he was inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal is introduced as he was inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the 1990s Orlando Magic will be titled “This Magic Moment” and will premiere April 14 on ESPN.

ESPN has announced its 30 for 30 profiling the Orlando Magic of the mid-1990s will debut April 14 at 9 p.m. on ESPN and at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

The film, entitled This Magic Moment, will chronicle the rise and quick fall of the Orlando Magic in the early and mid-1990s. That team of course had Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway and took the league and the world by storm at a time when Michael Jordan was out of the NBA.

Those teams are still spoken of with reverence in Orlando and around the league. They remain one of the great “What If?” stories in league history. This was a team with young players that seemed to have an unlimited future that was ripped apart. This was well chronicled in Jonathan Abrams’ oral history for Grantland released last year.

ESPN released an official description of the film:

"They were a fairy tale team in a fairy tale setting, with a cast of larger-than-life characters and a Cinderella plot line that featured magical ping-pong balls and a talking puppet. For four years in the mid-1990s, the Orlando Magic were one of the most captivating shows in the NBA, both on the court and off. ‘This Magic Moment’ relives those heady days when Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway ruled not only pro basketball, but popular culture as well. Lacing together delightfully honest interviews with evocative footage, ‘This Magic Moment’ is not only a trip down memory lane, but also a cautionary fable about what might have been."

Erin Leyden and Gentry Kirby directed This Magic Moment. Both are experienced producers in the 30 for 30 series.

Leyden directed The 99ers, a collection of home videos from the 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer Team as they won the World Cup, and Abby Head On, a profile of former Florida Gator and U.S. Women’s Soccer player Abby Wambach done for the SEC Stories series. Both are very strong additions to the 30 for 30 series.

Kirby directed Abby Head On with Leyden and has several producing credits throughout the documentary series.

There are a lot of interesting stories that are sure to come out about this team and a flood of nostalgia are surely on their way for the Magic. As well as a lot of pain.

The Over and Back Podcast over at Hardwood Paroxysm just did a 1995 season in review for Harwood Paroxysm’s 90s Week:

That is likely what this story is about. The unrealized dreams of an organization and a team that seemed to have the whole world in front of them. It is a story of how fleeting and precious success is and how quickly things can fall apart.

That was always a part of the Magic’s story as they declined from these highs.

The highs though were extremely high. Many Magic fans still talk about that team as the greatest in team history. Many fans around the league still talk about this team.

Next: Appreciating the tragedy of the 1995 Orlando Magic

Now we will get a definitive story from ESPN on the team and the context and meaning of that wild ride to the top and sudden crash.