What we learned about the 1995 Orlando Magic from “Blue Chips” oral history
Anfernee Hardaway forced his way onto the Magic’s board & the Magic asked for five picks for him
"Pat Williams: Logically, it appeared Chris Webber all the way. That’s what we were going to do. [Then], the Sunday before the draft, John Gabriel got a call from Penny Hardaway and Penny said, “I know you’re not planning on taking me, but you should. I’m your guy.” So John said, “All right, come in Sunday and we’ll have a workout on Monday.” And the draft was Tuesday night! John Gabriel: Pat orchestrated a deal with Golden State to get three number ones along with keeping a high draft pick for Penny, who is in essence the first pick. I said, “Pat, how’d you get three number ones out of Golden State?” He said, “I asked for five.”"
When the Magic shocked the NBA world and won the Lottery for a second straight year in 1993, the going thought was taking the best player available was taking Chris Webber. It was that much of a no-brainer.
Yet, Orlando shocked even Magic fans when Pat Williams went out to face fans at the Draft watch party in Orlando Arena and tell them they were trading the consensus top overall pick for a relatively unknown, but accomplished combo-guard from little-regarded Memphis State.
Hardaway was one of those workout wunderkinds. But his workout was really different.
As detailed in the oral history, after Hardaway stormed in and demanded a second workout, the Magic more or less had a team pick-up game with Hardaway going up against veterans Anthony Bowie and Donald Royal, the Magic’s two best defenders even on that 1995 team.
Hardaway torched them. It became clear the Magic needed to pair their star center with a dynamic point guard.
The rest was history. And those three draft picks they got from Don Nelson‘s desperate need for a big man did not hurt too. They turned into Todd Fuller, Vince Carter (traded to Washington along with Scott Skiles, as was Fuller) and 2001 Rookie of the Year Mike Miller.
Next: Big men can sell