The Orlando Magic’s 1995 series with the Chicago Bulls was closer than history might remember. We wonder what would have happened if it tips the other way.
When the Orlando Magic entered the second round of the 1995 Playoff series, players acknowledged they had a weight lifted off their shoulders. They had won their first playoff series and shed the sweep that stunned them and drove them the year before.
There is rarely time to breathe in the playoffs. And for a franchise experiencing everything for the first time, the test was only going to get bigger.
The Chicago Bulls came calling in the second round of those 1995 Playoffs. And while the result feels inevitable now and the Magic continually showed their mettle throughout the series, everything was always in doubt.
The Bulls were the favorites. Michael Jordan was back and gearing up to his Playoff form. Nobody was going to bet against him. And nobody was ready to believe the Magic were ready to take the throne.
Orlando adopted the moniker, “Why not us? Why not now?” The team did not want to wait for its turn. The Magic had no reason to wait. Their window was open. And they proved very quickly in that series with the Bulls they were here to play.
Stealing the ball from Jordan in Game 1 was just the beginning. At every turn, Jordan put on a scoring tour de force. And at every turn, the Magic answered. The Bulls would win, the Magic would respond. The Bulls would take the lead and the Magic responded.
It is the landmark series in Magic history. One of the most shocking results in NBA history. And something that felt more than a blip.
Of course, it turned into something of a footnote in history — surely getting at least 10 minutes in The Last Dance. The Bulls would assert their dominance the following season and the Magic would fall apart — a victim of an odd loophole in the CBA, the changing economics of sports and naivete about how the league works.
The Magic confirmed their belief they were championship ready when they defeated the Bulls in 1995. And that changed everything.
Rewatching the series, it is clear how close the Magic were to losing that series. It was a tight series the entire way. As tight as six-game series can be. And it took some miraculous poise and finishes for the Magic to pull it out — not just Game 1, but also Game 6.
History goes a lot different if the Magic lose this series. As it does with any series. Failure forces teams to re-examine themselves. And a little hit to the Magic’s confidence at this early stage might have changed how they prepared for 1996, leaving them hungry to get to the Finals after experiencing a small dose of Playoff success.
These are the unanswerable questions left off from the Magic’s 1995 series against the Bulls.
Did the Magic win the series or did the Bulls lose the series?
This is a question that feels like a bit of a contradiction. In order for a team to lose a series, another team has to take the opportunity presented to them. The Orlando Magic at nearly every turn took the opportunities the Chicago Bulls left for them.
To be clear then, the Magic made the plays to win their four games. The Bulls did not.
In that sense, Orlando won the series. Incontrovertibly won the series.
But it is shocking to revisit this series and see just how close the Bulls were to winning this series. This was not an “easy” six-game series. The Magic were not in control for the majority of the games in this series.
And knowing what the Bulls would become in the league and knowing this is Michael Jordan, it is hard not to think that the Bulls left something on the table.
In a 4-2 series, two games swing things the other way. In Game 1, the Bulls had the ball up one with the shot clock off when Nick Anderson stole the ball from Michael Jordan. In Game 6, the Bulls had an eight-point lead with three and a half minutes to play when the Magic went on a 14-0 run to close the game.
Orlando Magic
Even in Game 5, the Magic used a 3-point burst from Dennis Scott to pull away in the third quarter. And Game 3 saw the Magic make plays down the stretch in a back-and-forth game.
Series turn on the littlest things. the Magic got a miraculous shot from Rashard Lewis in Game 3 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals that helped them get to overtime. But that series, the Magic were the clearly dominant and better team. They had control of nearly every game and really only stole Game 1 on a 20-point comeback.
This series saw the Magic steal plenty of games. The Bulls led at the end of almost every first quarter. It was perhaps determination and confidence that ultimately pushed the Magic ahead. They made the plays to take the game.
But then again . . .
Jordan had two turnovers at the end of Game 1. Scottie Pippen missed free throws at the end of Game 3. And there was the 14-0 run to end Game 6.
Phil Jackson made plenty of tactical errors. There was no reason Scottie Pippen should not have been defending Anfernee Hardaway the entire series. B.J. Armstrong played only 27.7 minutes per game despite averaging 12.5 points per game (third on the team). He had some big moments throughout the series to stake the Bulls the lead.
It was almost as if the Bulls relied too heavily on Jordan and Pippen to will their way to the series win. There was an element of hubris throughout the whole series from the Bulls. They dared Horace Grant to beat them and he did.
The Magic took advantage of that hubris and won the games. The Bulls though might have lost the series.
Do the Magic win a Game 7?
Rewatching the series, you can see how on the knife’s edge the Orlando Magic were throughout the series. They trailed at the start of almost every game and every game came down to the very end.
Of the Magic’s four wins, only Game 5 was won fairly comfortably. The Magic needed plays at the end of Games 1, 3 and 6 to finish. And fairly healthy comebacks throughout. The Chicago Bulls really only won Game 2 fairly easily.
This series was nip and tuck.
It came down to mistakes — Michael Jordan turned the ball four times per game in the series and he had critical mistakes at the end of Games 1 and 3 that cost the Bulls the game. There was an unclutch factor to this game and the Bulls’ bench was a mess throughout.
But, this is Jordan we are talking about. Nobody wants to face him in a Game 7, even on the road. And throughout the series, you can see the Magic pushing against their immaturity. Orlando made its mistakes throughout the series too.
If the Magic had not made that 14-0 run in Game 6, Game 7 would have been a real toss-up. And, sure, the Magic could have won. They proved that plenty. But are you really betting against Jordan?
There is one piece of evidence to suggest the Magic would have won a Game 7 on their home floor.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic lost Game 6 to the Indiana Pacers 123-96 at Market Square Arena. The Magic returned home to defeat the Pacers in Game 7 by a 105-81 score.
More from History
- 5 worst starters of the Orlando Magic’s Shaquille O’Neal era
- Orlando Magic 35th Anniversary Season: The top 35 players in Orlando Magic history
- 5 Worst Starters of the Orlando Magic’s Rebuild Era
- 5 worst starters of the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard era
- Into the Orlando Magic-verse: Top 5 What-If’s in Orlando Magic History
Orlando certainly had the wherewithal to brush off a Game 6, potential series-clinching defeat.
There is a long history of teams getting blown out in these Game 6 situations and being able to easily shed those losses to focus in for Game 7. It is almost easier to brush aside a blowout loss.
Game 6 of the Bulls series was definitely on that edge. It looked like Chicago was going to get by with a relatively comfortable win. The Magic would not have had some critical, defining mistake to dwell on. Their run was a spurt of confidence and gumption from the young team.
The question is whether the Magic would have been able to withstand Jordan in a Game 7 (he actually very rarely played in Game 7s during his championship runs). And then the next question is whether Orlando would consistently come out on the right side of so many tight battles.
A Game 7 would have been a true 50/50 affair. And the Bulls would probably still be the favorite.
Do the Magic win if Jordan plays the entire season?
This question might be a bit easier to answer.
If the Chicago Bulls have Michael Jordan for the entire year, they probably win. Jordan was incredible in his 17 games and the Bulls were incredible with him — 13-4 after Jordan’s return. From there, they pushed an excellent Magic team to six games and could have won that series.
It was clear Jordan was Jordan, but not all the way Jordan. He fatigued at the end of the series with the Magic’s size. And Chicago’s bench did a poor job throughout the series. Everyone still seemed like they were trying to figure out their roles with Jordan sucking up so much oxygen.
Chicago Bulls
Still, Phil Jackson made some critical errors that he would quickly correct the following season.
The roster just did not have a ton of depth and did not have a lot of weapons outside of Jordan and Pippen.
Toni Kukoc struggled throughout the series despite having a speed advantage on his matchup in Horace Grant. Kukoc averaged 11.5 points per game on 44.3-percent shooting.
The Bulls struggled to find any offensive weapons outside of Jordan and Pippen.
The Magic’s bench worked them throughout the series. Orlando’s length especially seemed to bother the smaller Bulls.
A big part of this narrative is the Bulls had to realize some of their weaknesses as they filled in gaps the following season to set up the 72-10 run — signing Dennis Rodman for more size and speed to guard Shaquille O’Neal and starting Ron Harper for more size in the backcourt, for instance.
So what would the Bulls look like against the Magic with Jordan in basketball shape and basketball rhythm? It would not have been the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals sweep. The Bulls did not have the physicality to handle Shaquille O’Neal consistently.
But, this series was close. And Jordan had a lot of rhythm and fatigue mistakes throughout the series. Orlando would have still been a tough out. The team might have still won. But Jordan has a lot more gravity than even a young Shaq. And his best was yet to come in 1996 and 1997.
Would the Magic have been better off losing this series?
I often think about this question with the 2009 Finals team. The Orlando Magic took advantage of an injury to Kevin Garnett to get to the Finals. And whenever you can get to the Finals, you go there and take your chance to win the title. If there is one thing every team should know: When the window is open, you run through it until it shuts on you.
The 2010 Magic had to completely retool itself with free agency to stay in contention. And they did enough to stay in contention and have their best shot at winning a title. But they lost some spark that made the 2009 team so special.
There is something to the struggle it takes to win. There are lessons to learn along the way. And success that comes too quickly means there are things lost along the way. The sacrifice it takes to win is earned.
Especially for a franchise that experienced success so quickly like the Magic.
Orlando was already pretty creative to go get a player like Horace Grant (and honestly Anfernee Hardaway). The team certainly sensed its window was open. And they went for it, as they should have.
But what would have happened if the team loses this series? Their top-seed leaves them with a loss to one of the old stalwarts of the league?
How would they have changed their approach? What changes would they have made? Could the Magic have innovated a way to beat the Bulls or would they have trusted their development and growth would take them up a level?
Would a loss in this series given them an idea of how valuable and necessary both O’Neal and Hardaway were? Does it change offseason preparations?
Without the scarring of Game 1 of the 1995 Finals, does the team come back more resolved and mature? Does Nick Anderson keep up his level or do the Magic look to add someone else to the mix?
I find this question fascinating and a central question to both the 1995 and 2009 teams. They seemed like they peaked in the Playoffs before their actual teams peaked. And conditions around the league and expectations consumed them, closing their windows before they should have.
Do the Bulls go 72-10 without this loss?
The story goes that Michael Jordan saw Horace Grant hoisted on his teammates’ shoulder celebrating on his court and he experienced the failure of the playoff defeat. That story drove him in the offseason to get back into basketball shape and put on a three-year tour de force that changed the league.
The 1996 season was especially vengeful. The Chicago Bulls went 72-10 and dominated the entire league — only getting challenged in the Finals from the Seattle SuperSonics (an interesting what-if series for Orlando Magic history).
Jordan experiencing failure is probably one of the worst things that can happen for his opponents. His ability to use any sleight as motivation was legendary.
The Magic gave him a serving of motivation not only be beating him but by lifting Grant on his shoulders. Or even exploiting the Bulls’ strategy of forcing Grant to beat them.
The Magic beat the Bulls. Jordan made several mistakes on his own. And then they rubbed it in by lifting his former teammate — and apparently the guy Jordan felt snitched on the team for Sam Smith’s The Jordan Rules.
That is like shoveling coal into a fire. And that fire was raging in 1996.
Jordan averaged 30.4 points per game in 1996 and the Bulls put together perhaps the greatest full season in NBA history. At least, the most dominant.
The Bulls probably go on to win the title in 1996. A fully healthy and basketball-ready Jordan was going to be nearly impossible to stop. Evey by a team as up-and-coming as the Magic.
Would the Bulls have jumped to historical levels without the motivation of this loss and the way they lost? That is a question we will never know.
Be sure to check out part one of our Rewatchables series on this 1995 matchup between the Magic and the Bulls. We will have one more part coming tomorrow naming who wins the series.