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The 10 greatest moments in Orlando Magic history

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Anfernee Hardaway sported the Orlando Magic's original pinstripes jersey, a classic that still creates buzz around the league. (Photo by Andrew D Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Anfernee Hardaway sported the Orlando Magic's original pinstripes jersey, a classic that still creates buzz around the league. (Photo by Andrew D Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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9. 3-Point Barrage

Jan. 13, 2009: Magic set 3-point record in Sacramento

When the story of the 3-point shot is written in NBA history, it will be impossible to leave out tales about the Orlando Magic. In many ways, the Magic were one of the pioneers of the 3-point shot, proving on two occasions that teams could win with the 3-point shot as a key weapon in their arsenal.

It started in 1995 when the Magic surrounded Shaquille O’Neal with sharpshooters like Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson and started hitting threes at a yet-unseen rate, at least for a team serious about contending. They rode that still-new style to the Finals where they faced another team that used one of the original stretch-4s in Robert Horry and a 3-point bomber in Kenny Smith.

In 1996, Dennis Scott set the then-NBA record with 11 3-pointers in a late April win over the Atlanta Hawks. That record has since been broken. But Scott was one of the original trail-blazers (no pun intended) when it came to 3-point shooting even in college with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The Phoenix Suns under Mike D’Antoni took advantage of the new hand-checking rules and used the 3-pointer to create a new free-flowing offense. But it was the 2009 Magic that proved the style could win on a bigger stage, reaching the Finals.

The distillation of that strategy — surrounding the Magic’s new Superman center in Dwight Howard with shooting at every position — was seen most on Jan. 13, 2009 against the Sacramento Kings.

The Magic hit 23 3-pointers that night, setting a NBA record that has since been broken as the 3-point revolution has grown exponentially since the Magic reached that Finals. But that night the Magic were hitting freely — 23 of 37 overall including five from Jameer Nelson and four each from J.J. Redick and Keith Bogans off the bench.

It was an absolute barrage.

That game was important for another reason in the run to that Finals. It came a game before the Orlando Magic scored a critical win over the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, a game that probably signaled to the rest of the league that they were legitimate title contenders.

Orlando played an important role in the game’s evolution, even without winning a title.