One of the most beloved and memorable teams in Orlando Magic history will become the feature of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary premiering in April.
The Orlando Magic of the mid-1990s will be the focus of an ESPN 30 for 30 in April, ESPN Films announced last week.
Undoubtedly the formational team of Orlando sports, the Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway-led Magic teams captured the imagination of NBA fans in Orlando, across the nation and around the world. Their impact is still felt by many. Shaq and Penny were the way many NBA fans first came to the NBA.
In Orlando, those teams hold a special place too. Those teams gave the city a sense of arrival.
Just six years into the grand experiment of having a NBA team in Orlando, the team was in the NBA Finals and on the biggest stage. It was winning popularity awards as the favorite team for many NBA fans.
Their potential was limitless. And then it all ended. Suddenly.
And even those after effects are still felt.
Shaquille O’Neal has never been fully embraced since leaving and the organization has made numerous moves seemingly to avoid making the same mistake it made with O’Neal in letting him walk for nothing.
As sure as the documentary looks at the rise of the team through the back-to-back NBA Draft Lottery wins it should also look at the fall with O’Neal’s departure. The Magic have not completely reached those heights even with the team reaching the NBA Finals in 2009. Every center, including Dwight Howard, had to live up to O’Neal considerable shadow.
In recent years, though, the Magic have reached out to welcome back the players from that era.
For the 25th Anniversary season, the Magic welcomed Hardaway back to be honored at mid court to a rousing ovation. An ovation even he was not sure he would receive after the way he left.
Last year, Shaquille O’Neal was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame last year and, again, was cheered. Time has healed a lot of old wounds.
And now it seems to be a good time for some nostalgia.
