Second-greatest player in the history of each NBA franchise
Orlando Magic: Shaquille O’Neal
Greatest Player: Dwight Howard
Shaquille O’Neal arrived at the Orlando Magic a sizeably-hyped No. 1 overall pick after three stellar seasons at LSU. It took him all of one pro season to completely justify that excitement and his ability to alter a franchise with just three seasons under its belt.
He put up 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game in his first season, numbers only replicated nine other times in NBA history. And yet here Shaq was at 20 years of age, producing them en route to a Rookie of the Year trophy and a 20-win improvement for Orlando.
With 51 wins the season after, Orlando had earned the first playoff appearance in the franchise’s short history, ultimately bowing out to Indiana in three games.
O’Neal’s third season remains a staple of Magic history, where after claiming the first of two scoring titles, he guided them to an NBA Finals appearance.
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The Rockets proved too much to handle in a four-game sweep of the Magic, but the mere presence on the grandest stage was a mighty accomplishment for an Orlando organization less than a decade old.
A sweep at the hands of the Bulls the next season resulted in the departure of O’Neal that summer, but there was no denying the imprint he left on the team that drafted him.
An All-Star every year, what he achieved in each of his four seasons in Orlando is something many NBA franchises have been waiting for decades to accomplish.