What If? Series: 1995 Orlando Magic vs. San Antonio Spurs
The Orlando Magic fell short in the 1995 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. But what if they played the San Antonio Spurs instead? The title was close.
There are two lasting images of the 1995 NBA Finals that ring through history. Both show just how close the Orlando Magic were to winning a championship and how far they were away.
The narrative was set from Game 1 when Nick Anderson missed his four free throws with the Magic up by three at the end of regulation. The Houston Rockets made the kill shot to force overtime and Hakeem Olajuwon’s tip-in delivered the victory.
Four games later, the Magic, caught adrift from the sudden and shocking defeat, could not recover. They struggled to make any game really competitive and the rest of the series was an afterthought.
The Rockets rolled to a Game 4 victory to sweep the Magic, leaving the young team to huddle on the floor and take in the festivities before struggling to get out of The Summitt as fans celebrated their second championship.
It was on the floor after that game that Rudy Tomjanovich told the world never to question the heart of a champion after the Rockets dispatched four 50-win teams to win back-to-back championships.
The Rockets quietly built a strong dynasty. They closed the window on the other great players of the 1990s by winning the two years when Michael Jordan was gone.
David Robinson eventually won his title when Tim Duncan arrived in 1997, winning in 1999 and 2003. But that was long past Robinson’s prime. That team belonged to Duncan.
His best chance to win the title as the best player on the team came in 1995 when he won MVP and the San Antonio Spurs had the best record in the league at 62-20. The Spurs had a championship window and this was it.
They were as dominant as any other team in the league. Robinson was a dynamic and versatile center, able to bring big men out to the perimeter and take them into the post. But, like all the Spurs teams, they were strong defensively. Dennis Rodman helped anchor them defensively.
But like the 1995 Magic, they spread the floor around Robinson with solid shooting. They had lots of skilled shooters in Vinny Del Negro, Sean Elliott and Chuck Person.
San Antonio was solid in every way. Except in the playoffs.
They had Robinson as the centerpiece to everything — a supremely talented player. But none of the help he needed against the elite teams. And the Rockets exposed that.
The Rockets exposed everyone. They had “the heart of a champion” as it were.
The Magic and Spurs in 1995 were just two of the teams left on the cutting room floor when the Rockets rallied to a title. So many great players and great teams fell short against this great team.
Most Magic fans believe the Magic would have won the title if not for the missed free throws in Game 1. But they would have had a tough matchup with the Spurs too. The Magic’s path to a title may not have been so preordained if these two teams had faced off instead.