In 1995, the Orlando Magic had the opportunity to become among the leagues best early in their tenure only to have it snatched away by missed free throws.
In the NBA you have moments.
Some moments are classic moments that define careers. And some moments define franchises.
The biggest moment in Orlando Magic franchise history is a negative one, and it happened on the biggest stage in basketball during the 1995 Finals. The moment came to define whole careers and national perceptions. It seemed to curse the Magic forever to chase the title and would soon lead to the breaking up of their budding dynasty.
It turned out their door was open. The confident young group knew this was their time. And it quickly disappeared.
It all came in a moment sometimes too painful for Magic fans to think about. Even 20-plus years since it happened.
With 10.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Houston Rockets, the Orlando Magic led by three points when Robert Horry fouled Nick Anderson and sent him to the charity stripe. It seemed these would be the game-winning free throws for Nick Anderson.
Horry’s body language told the story of how the Rockets were feeling when the intentional foul was made. After the whistle, the defending champions walked around like they were defeated or like they knew Anderson was guaranteed to make at least one free throw and put the game out of reach.
At the time, those free throws were a mere afterthought even though Anderson only shot 70.4 percent from the line.
Although the Magic were one of the newest teams in the league, that moment felt and seemed to be a step into a bright future of the blossoming franchise.
They used the moniker “Why not us? Why not now?” to say to the world they were not too young to win a title and that the NBA would be their oyster for years to come. Shaquille O’Neal was in his third year in the league. Anfernee Hardaway in his second. There was no one that could stop them — not even the defending champion Rockets.
Anderson stepped to the line for the first of two free throws and short-armed the first. After it clanks off of the front of the rim he does a quick spin around in disappointment, as if he did not have another opportunity to put the game away. Usually, when a shot is short it means fatigue has a taken over and it has a lot to do with the attempt.
Anderson goes back to the line and short arms the second free throw but gets his own rebound only to get fouled again. He gained a second chance at redemption. He needed just one free throw to put the game away and deliver Orlando the 1-0 series lead to set the tone in the series.
The third free throw attempt clanks off the back of the rim this time and Anderson’s frustration starts to boil over. As if he knew he was costing his team a win on the biggest stage of the sport. He was shriveling it seemed on the biggest stage. If Twitter existed, he would have been suffering a fate far worse than J.R. Smith.
This was one of the biggest gaffes in NBA history.
Before his last free throw attempt, he starts to smile (like when you smile to cover up how you really are feeling) and looks confident only to miss the fourth free throw badly. The Rockets tracked down the rebound and retained their chance to tie.
Rudy Tomjanovich would say after the series ended to never question the heart of a champion. It almost seemed as if the Rockets were gaining momentum after every missed free throw. Their body language changed from a losing attitude to thinking they still have a chance.
And not only did they have a chance the Rockets literally stole Game 1 of the Finals after Kenny Smith dribbled right and pump fakes to hit a 3-point dagger right in Anfernee Hardaway’s face to force overtime.
On the final play of overtime, Clyde Drexler drove to the basket only to miss the layup and have Hakeem Olajuwon tip on the left side of the basket. The Rockets stole home court advantage and stuck a dagger in a young team riding on confidence and now asking questions about themselves.
It still is one of the most dramatic Game 1s in league history. It probably was the only chance for a player like Anderson to win a ring. The future seemed limitless for this young team, but now doubt crept in.
They did not know then that this would be their only year. Michael Jordan had already returned, but the Chicago Bulls would put a vice grip on the entire league for the next three years. Shaquille O’Neal would leave the Magic after they botched his free agency negotiations.
This was their chance. A franchise-changing miss that turned a title, perhaps. Most of the Magic players interviewed in the 30 for 30 documentary This Magic Moment seemed to believe they would have won the series if not for the lack of confidence born from those misses in Game 1.
Anderson tried his best to keep his confidence as he faced the media following this moment. He did not try to hide his failure or avoid talking about it. But it clearly affected him.
"“I’ve been in that situation several times, but tonight, I just didn’t have it,” Anderson told Susan Slusser of the Orlando Sentinel in 1995. “Why now? I just missed the free throws. I’m going to try to knock ’em down Friday night.”"
He may not have admitted it then, but it clearly affected him. He now can admit the game haunted him during the rest of his career. He shot just 61.9 percent from the foul line the rest of his time with the Magic. That kind of a decrease showed there was a mental block with him at the line. He was never the same.
That moment seems to haunt the franchise too.
If the Magic had won that game, the players believe they would have won the title. In Game 2, the Magic lost again 117-106 to head to Houston down two games. They lost Game 3 by three points to find themselves in the impossible 3-0 hole.
Game 4 was a coronation for the Rockets’ second title. And the Magic were left hopeful for their future with a young team but asking themselves questions about the opportunity they lost.
Orlando would not get another opportunity. Jordan returned to his former glory. The Bulls won 72 games and picked off the Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.
O’Neal entered unrestricted free agency because of a collective bargaining agreement quirk, salaries exploded and the Magic as a young franchise had no idea how to handle a player ready to make what was then an obscene amount of money.
O’Neal was gone to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would win three titles.
Would O’Neal have stayed in Orlando if Anderson had made those free throws and delivered a title to the Magic in 1995? Would they have had the confidence — and the injury fortune — to topple the Bulls and end their dynasty?
These are the questions that haunt the Magic. The questions that turned on the four missed free throws from Anderson.
It is impossible to know the full Butterfly Effect that came from Anderson missing those free throws — and nationally becoming “Nick the Brick.” But it will always remain the biggest what if in Magic history.