1992–93 Orlando Magic season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the Magic's fourth season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] This season held a lot of promise as LSU center Shaquille O'Neal was drafted first overall by the Magic in the 1992 NBA draft.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Meanwhile, the Magic signed free agent Donald Royal during the off-season.^[8][9][10] There were predictions that O'Neal would become the next dominant center in the NBA.^[11][12] Shaq became an instant superstar with merchandising that rivaled only Michael Jordan.

1992–93 Orlando Magic season
Head coach	Matt Guokas
Arena	Orlando Arena
Results
Record	41–41 (.500)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 9th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKCF Sunshine Network
Radio	WDBO
< 1991–92 1993–94 >

The Magic started to show improvement winning eight of their first eleven games, but then lost six straight afterwards in December, as the team acquired Steve Kerr from the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[13][14][15] The Magic continued to play .500 basketball with a 24–23 record at the All-Star break.^[16] However, the team had various problems with injuries as Dennis Scott only played 54 games due to calf and Achilles injuries,^[17][18][19] and second-year center Brian Williams missed most of the season due to clinical depression, including a suicide attempt, only playing just 21 games.^{[20][21][22][23]} The Magic finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 41–41 record,^[24] and lost a tie-breaker for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference to the 8th-seeded Indiana Pacers.^{[25][26][27][28]}

O'Neal averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, as he was named Rookie of the Year.^{[29][30][31][32]} He was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, was selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, which was his first ever All-Star appearance,^{[33][34][35][36][37]} and also finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting.^{[38][39][40][41]} In addition, Nick Anderson finished second on the team in scoring averaging 19.9 points, and contributed 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while Scott averaged 15.9 points per game, Scott Skiles provided the team with 15.4 points and 9.7 assists per game, and Royal contributed 9.2 points per game off the bench.^[42]

Following the season, Kerr signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls,^[43] while Williams was traded to the Denver Nuggets,^[44][45][46] head coach Matt Guokas resigned after four seasons coaching the Magic,^[47][48][49] and Terry Catledge retired.

Draft picks

Main article: 1992 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	1	Shaquille O'Neal	C	United States	LSU

Roster

1992–93 Orlando Magic roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 25 Anderson, Nick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–01–20 Illinois SG 14 Bowie, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–09 Oklahoma PF 33 Catledge, Terry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1963–08–22 South Alabama PG 11 Green, Litterial 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1970–03–07 Georgia PG 2 Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965–09–27 Arizona C 34 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1961–08–05 BYU C 32 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 300 lb (136 kg) 1972–03–06 LSU SF 5 Royal, Donald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–05–22 Notre Dame SF 3 Scott, Dennis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) 1968–09–05 Georgia Tech PG 4 Skiles, Scott 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1964–03–05 Michigan State SF 40 Tolbert, Tom 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–10–16 Arizona PF 31 Turner, Jeff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1962–04–09 Vanderbilt PF 8 Williams, Brian 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1969–04–06 Arizona PF 42 Wright, Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–12–20 Stanford

Head coach Matt Guokas Assistant coach(es) Brian Hill Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: April 8, 1993

Regular season

Shaquille O'Neal was drafted as the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. During that summer, prior to moving to Orlando, he spent a significant amount of time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal had an exceptional rookie season, as he helped the Magic win 20 more games than the previous season, with the team ultimately missing the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. O'Neal averaged 23.4 points and 13.9 rebounds per game for the season and was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year. O'Neal played in the All-Star game and scored 14 points. On two occasions during that season, each during a nationally televised game, O'Neal dunked the ball so hard that he broke the backboard support units.^{[citation needed]}

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New York Knicks	60	22	.732	—	37–4	23–18	23–5
x-Boston Celtics	48	34	.585	12	28–13	20–21	19–9
x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	17	26–15	17–24	14–14
Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	19	27–14	14–27	15–13
Miami Heat	36	46	.439	24	26–15	10–31	9–19
Philadelphia 76ers	26	56	.317	34	15–26	11–30	11–17
Washington Bullets	22	60	.268	38	15–26	7–34	7–21

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-New York Knicks	60	22	.732	–
2	y-Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695	3
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	54	28	.659	6
4	x-Boston Celtics	48	34	.585	12
5	x-Charlotte Hornets	44	38	.537	16
6	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	17
7	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	17
8	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	19
9	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	19
10	Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	20
11	Miami Heat	36	46	.439	24
12	Milwaukee Bucks	28	54	.341	32
13	Philadelphia 76ers	26	56	.317	36
14	Washington Bullets	22	60	.268	38

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1992–93 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–2	3–2	2–2	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Boston	2–2	–	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–4	3–2	4–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–1
Charlotte	2–3	1–3	–	2–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Chicago	2–2	3–1	3–2	–	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	5–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	5–0	1–3	3–1	3–2	–	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	–	1–5	1–1	0–4	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–5	1–3	0–5	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1	–	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–4	1–3	2–3	2–0
Detroit	3–2	3–1	1–4	1–3	2–3	1–1	1–1	–	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–3	2–0	–	2–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	0–5	4–1	3–1	1–4	3–1	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	1–1	2–2	–	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–0	4–1	1–3	4–1	1–1
Indiana	2–2	2–2	5–0	0–5	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–0	0–2	–	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	3–2	0–4	1–1	–	3–2	0–2	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	3–2	0–4	1–4	2–2	2–0
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–1	1–3	1–1	2–3	–	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–5	3–2	3–2	2–2	1–4	1–3	2–0
Miami	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	–	2–2	2–0	2–3	0–5	3–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3
Milwaukee	2–3	2–2	1–3	1–4	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	–	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	2–3	1–1	1–3	2–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–4	0–4	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	3–1	0–4	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	2–0	3–2	4–0	1–1	–	1–3	3–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New York	2–2	4–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	–	2–2	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1
Orlando	3–1	2–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–2	2–0	2–3	2–2	–	3–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0
Philadelphia	1–3	1–4	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–3	0–5	2–3	–	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	2–0	4–1	2–2	1–1	2–3	5–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	–	3–2	5–0	3–1	2–3	3–1	2–0
Portland	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	–	5–0	2–2	2–3	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–4	0–4	0–2	2–3	2–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	0–5	–	2–2	1–4	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–0	4–1	2–0	1–3	1–4	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	–	3–1	3–3	1–1
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–1	3–1	0–2	4–1	4–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	4–1	1–3	–	2–2	2–0
Utah	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–4	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–3	2–2	–	1–1
Washington	2–2	1–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	3–2	3–1	1–1	1–4	1–4	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shaquille O'Neal	C	81	81	3,071	1,122	152	60	286	1,893	37.9	13.9	1.9	.7	3.5	23.4
Nick Anderson	SG	79	76	2,920	477	265	128	56	1,574	37.0	6.0	3.4	1.6	.7	19.9
Scott Skiles	PG	78	78	3,086	290	735	86	2	1,201	39.6	3.7	9.4	1.1	.0	15.4
Anthony Bowie	SG	77	45	1,761	194	175	54	14	618	22.9	2.5	2.3	.7	.2	8.0
Donald Royal	SF	77	0	1,636	295	80	36	25	706	21.2	3.8	1.0	.5	.3	9.2
Jeff Turner	PF	75	20	1,479	252	107	19	9	528	19.7	3.4	1.4	.3	.1	7.0
Tom Tolbert	PF	72	61	1,838	412	91	33	21	583	25.5	5.7	1.3	.5	.3	8.1
Greg Kite	C	64	1	640	193	10	13	12	89	10.0	3.0	.2	.2	.2	1.4
Dennis Scott	SF	54	43	1,759	186	136	57	18	858	32.6	3.4	2.5	1.1	.3	15.9
Litterial Green	PG	52	4	626	34	116	23	4	235	12.0	.7	2.2	.4	.1	4.5
Steve Kerr†	SG	47	0	440	38	59	8	1	122	9.4	.8	1.3	.2	.0	2.6
Terry Catledge	PF	21	1	262	46	5	4	1	99	12.5	2.2	.2	.2	.0	4.7
Bison Dele	PF	21	0	240	56	5	14	17	96	11.4	2.7	.2	.7	.8	4.6
Chris Corchiani†	PG	9	0	102	7	16	6	0	42	11.3	.8	1.8	.7	.0	4.7
Howard Wright	PF	4	0	10	2	0	0	0	8	2.5	.5	.0	.0	.0	2.0
Lorenzo Williams†	PF	3	0	10	2	0	1	1	0	3.3	.7	.0	.3	.3	.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Magic only.

Awards and honors

• Shaquille O'Neal – NBA Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie 1st Team, All-Star

Transactions

References

1. 1992-93 Orlando Magic
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4. Wojciechowski, Gene (June 25, 1992). "Miner Didn't Realize Heat Would Be on Like This: NBA Draft: USC Star Waits Longer Than Expected Before Miami Makes Him the 12th Overall Selection. UCLA's Murray Goes to San Antonio, Pepperdine's Christie to Seattle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
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41. Orlando Magic (1989-Present)
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• Orlando Magic on Database Basketball
• Orlando Magic on Basketball Reference