The 2008–09 Orlando Magic season was the 20th season of the franchise in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Led by 23-year-old center

Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team m ...

, the team finished the regular season with a 59–23 record, the most wins since the 1995–96 season. The Magic would go on to defeat the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

in six games in the First Round, highlighted by forward

Hedo Türkoğlu Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (; born March 19, 1979) is a Turkish basketball executive and former professional player. A forward, Türkoğlu played for six teams in his 15-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA ...

's game winner in game four of the first round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, then defeated the defending NBA champion

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in a tough, hard-fought seven-game series in the semi-finals, and finally, defeated the top-seeded

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in six games in the conference finals, thanks to all-star defensive player of the year center

's 40 points and 10 rebounds in Game 6, to advance to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

for the first time since

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, only to lose to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in five games. Following the season, Türkoğlu was traded to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in a three-team deal and

Rafer Alston Rafer Jamel Alston (born July 24, 1976), also known as Skip to my Lou or Skip 2 My Lou, is an American retired professional basketball player. Alston first gained basketball fame playing in the AND1 Mixtape Tour in 1999 before making the National ...

Tony Battie Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school and college career Battie attended S ...

and

Courtney Lee Courtney Lee (born October 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Western Kentucky University. Lee was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 22nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft and wa ...

were all dealt to the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. It was also

Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (pronounced ''Ta-RON LEW''; born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as t ...

’s last season as an NBA player, as 6 years later, he would return to the NBA, as head coach of the

Key dates

*June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City. *July 1: The

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

period started. *October 29: The Magic opened the season with a game against the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. *December 12: Because of a sore left knee,

missed the first game of his professional career, ending a streak of 351 consecutive games played in. *January 13: The Magic scored an NBA record 23 three-pointers against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. Nine of the twelve Magic players who played that night scored at least one three pointer:

Jameer Nelson Jameer Lamar Nelson Sr. (born February 9, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as assistant general manager for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawk ...

(5),

JJ Redick Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick (born June 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is a podcaster and sports analyst for ESPN. He was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. He played college baske ...

(4),

Keith Bogans Keith Ramon Bogans (born May 12, 1980) is an American former basketball player who last served as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Kentucky. School and col ...

(4),

(3),

Rashard Lewis Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Lewis entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a scorer with the Seattle SuperSonics, and was later ...

(3),

(1), Anthony Johnson (1), Brian Cook (1), and

Jeremy Richardson Jeremy Terrell Richardson (born March 1, 1984) is an American professional basketball player. He is a 6'7", 210 lb. swingman and he has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Memph ...

(1). *February 2:

left a game after dislocating his right shoulder. One day later, it was announced that he suffered a torn labrum, and would require surgery to repair it, meaning he would likely miss the rest of the season. A few days prior to the injury, Nelson had been named as a reserve in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. *February 19: As part of a three-way trade, the Magic acquired

from the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. *February 25: The Magic were assured a winning season after defeating the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. *March 11: The Magic clinched a playoff spot with a win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. *March 25: After beating the

, the Magic clinched their second consecutive division championship. With the win, they were also guaranteed of finishing the regular season with more wins than the previous season. *April 15: The regular season ended, with the Magic finishing one win shy of matching a franchise record. *April 21: Dwight Howard won the

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswrit ...

, becoming the youngest player to win the award as well as the first player of the Magic to do so. *April 28: Rookie

was accidentally hit in the face by Dwight Howard during Game 5 of the Magic's first round playoff series. The following day it was announced he would miss Game 6, suffering a fractured sinus. *April 29: Dwight Howard was suspended for one game by the NBA for an incident in which Howard elbowed a

player in the face the previous night in Game 5 of the Magic's first round playoff series.Howard out for Game 6
/ref> *April 30: The Magic advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs after defeating the

in 6 games. *May 17: In a

Game 7 A game seven is the final game of a best of seven series. This game can occur in the postseasons for Major League Baseball (MLB) (League Championship Series and World Series), the National Basketball Association (NBA) (all rounds of the NBA pl ...

on the road, the Magic advanced to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 1996 after defeating the defending champion

. *May 30: The Magic defeated the

4–2 to advance to the

2009 NBA Finals The 2009 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2008–09 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers (who were also the defending ...

and made their first appearance since

. *June 9: The Magic earned their first

game victory in franchise history. They beat the

in Game 3 at

Amway Arena Amway Arena (originally known as Orlando Arena and later TD Waterhouse Centre) was an indoor arena located in Orlando, Florida. It was part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in Downtown Orlando. The arena wa ...

by a score of 108–104. The Magic shot an NBA Finals single-game record 75% in the first half, and a record 62.5% for the entire game. The Magic had lost their first six NBA Finals games (four in 1995 and two in 2009). *June 14: The Magic's season ended, having lost the

in five games to the Lakers.

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

The first half of the 2008–09 season went very well for the Magic. After 41 games, the Magic were 33–8, leading the Southeast Division, as well as having one of the top four records in the league. On January 13, 2009, they scored an NBA record 23

three-pointers A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a Field goal (basketball), field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, i ...

against the

. Nine of the twelve Magic players who played that night scored at least one three pointer. At the start of February,

, their all-star starting point guard, went down with a shoulder injury which caused him to miss the remainder of the season. The Magic then began a stretch where they did not win or lose consecutive games for almost the entire month. The Magic did make a deal at the trade deadline with the

for

. Still having to deal with the absence of Nelson though, Orlando managed to maintain one of the top records in the league, secured a second straight winning season, and clinched a playoff berth in mid-March. The Magic defeated the defending champion

to capture their second consecutive division championship, and on the same night assured themselves of winning more games than the previous season. Finishing the regular season with a 59–23 record, it was the most games the team had won in a season since the 1995–96 season in which they had 60 wins.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

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16,551 , 36–11 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 48 , February 4 , L.A. Clippers , , Anthony Johnson (25) ,

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13,559 , 37–12 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 50 , February 8 ,

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New Orleans Arena Smoothie King Center (locally referred to as SKC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Caesars Superdome. The arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and ...

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19,244 , 40–14 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 55 , February 22 ,

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17,461 , 41–14 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 56 , February 24 , @

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Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

19,763 , 42–15 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 58 , February 27 ,

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17,461 , 42–16 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 59 , February 28 , @

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19,703 , 43–16 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 60 , March 3 ,

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17,461 , 44–16 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 61 , March 6 ,

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18,624 , 46–16 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 63 , March 9 , @

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20,039 , 46–17 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 64 , March 11 ,

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Quicken Loans Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...

20,562 , 49–18 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 68 , March 18 , @

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Bradley Center The Bradley Center (also known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center under sponsorship agreements) was a multi-purpose arena located on the northwest corner of North Vel R. Phillips Ave. and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United ...

13,819 , 50–18 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 69 , March 21 ,

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19,763 , 52–18 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 71 , March 25 ,

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17,461 , 53–18 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 72 , March 27 ,

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19,600 , 55–18 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 74 , April 1 ,

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17,461 , 55–19 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 75 , April 3 ,

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Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...

18,389 , 57–20 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 78 , April 8 ,

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17,461 , 58–20 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 79 , April 10 ,

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17,123 , 58–22 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 81 , April 13 , @

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14,683 , 58–23 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 82 , April 15 ,

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Playoffs

The Magic drew the

in the first round of the

. With the series tied at two wins for each team, Game 5 saw Vivani an incident in the 1st quarter involving

throwing an elbow at 76ers center

Samuel Dalembert Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981) is a Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Seton Hall University. During his active NB ...

. Howard was assessed a

technical foul In basketball, a technical foul (colloquially known as a "T" or a "tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a ...

but was not ejected from the game. The NBA reviewed the play and suspended Howard for Game 6. A second incident involving an elbow from Dwight Howard happened in Game 5 not long after the elbow to Dalembert. This time however, Magic rookie

was the recipient of the hit from his teammate. Lee left the game and did not return. Suffering a fractured sinus, it was announced that Lee was expected to have surgery and could miss the remainder of the postseason. Neither player's absence would prove costly to Orlando in Game 6, who won the series with a blowout on the road, and Lee returned to action in the next series wearing a protective face mask, such as one worn by Richard Hamilton. In the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Magic faced the defending champion

. Facing a 3–2 series deficit, the Magic tied the series with a home game victory in Game 6 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals by winning

on the road, ending Boston's 32–0 undefeated record when leading the series 3–2. Assistant Coach

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New ...

had guaranteed a win in Game 7. Returning to the conference finals for the first time since 1996, the Magic's opponent was the

, who compiled the league's best regular season record led by the season's MVP,

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

. That didn't stop the Magic as they closed the series out at home in Game 6, winning 103–90 as

scored 40 points, a career high for him in a playoff game. The Magic won the series 4–2, the Eastern Conference championship, and the right to face the

in the

. After dropping the first two games in the series, the Magic finally won their first ever game in the finals in Game 3. With the franchise losing their first six finals games 1995 and 2009 combined, it was the second most games a team had lost in the finals before earning their first win.Hot shooting, balanced scoring lift Magic in Game 3
/ref> However, in Game 4 the Magic lost to the Lakers 99–91 in overtime; the Lakers took a 3–1 series lead and won again in Game 5, thus ending the Magic's longest playoff run in team history and ending up 1–8 in the finals.

Game log

, - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , , April 19 , ,

, , , ,

(31) , ,

(16) , ,

(5) , ,

17,461 , , 0–1 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 2 , , April 22 , ,

, , , ,

(24) , ,

(10) , ,

(6) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 1–1 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , , April 24 , , @

, , , ,

(36) , ,

(11) , ,

(5) , ,

16,492 , , 1–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 4 , , April 26 , , @

, , , ,

(18) , ,

(5) , , Wachovia Center
16,464 , , 2–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 5 , , April 28 , ,

, , , ,

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

(24) , ,

(24) , , Alston, Türkoğlu (4) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 3–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 6 , , April 30 , , @

, , , ,

(29) , ,

(15) , ,

(10) , , Wachovia Center
16,691 , , 4–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 1 , , May 4 , , @

, , , ,

(18) , ,

(22) , ,

(7) , ,

18,624 , , 1–0 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , , May 6 , , @

, , , ,

, Piétrus (17) , ,

(12) , , Anthony Johnson (7) , , TD Banknorth Garden
18,624 , , 1–1 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 3 , , May 8 , ,

, , , ,

(28) , ,

(14) , ,

(4) , ,

17,461 , , 2–1 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , , May 10 , ,

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(23) , ,

(17) , ,

(7) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 2–2 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , , May 12 , , @

, , , ,

(19) , ,

(17) , ,

(7) , , TD Banknorth Garden
18,624 , , 2–3 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 6 , , May 14 , ,

, , , ,

(23) , ,

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, Türkoğlu (3) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 3–3 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 7 , , May 17 , , @

, , , ,

(25) , ,

(16) , ,

(12) , , TD Banknorth Garden
18,624 , , 4–3 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 1 , , May 20 , , @

, , , ,

(30) , ,

(13) , ,

(14) , ,

20,562 , , 1–0 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , , May 22 , , @

, , , ,

(23) , ,

(18) , ,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, Türkoğlu (4) , , Quicken Loans Arena
20,562 , , 1–1 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 3 , , May 24 , ,

, , , ,

(24) , ,

(10) , ,

(7) , ,

17,461 , , 2–1 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 4 , , May 26 , ,

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(27) , ,

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(8) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 3–1 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , , May 28 , , @

, , , ,

(29) , ,

(10) , ,

(4) , , Quicken Loans Arena
20,562 , , 3–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 6 , , May 30 , ,

, , , ,

(40) , ,

(14) , ,

(5) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 4–2 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , , June 4 , , @

, , , ,

(14) , ,

(15) , ,

(4) , ,

18,997 , , 0–1 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , , June 7 , , @

, , , ,

(34) , ,

(16) , ,

(7) , , Staples Center
18,997 , , 0–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 3 , , June 9 , ,

, , , ,

(21) , ,

(14) , ,

(7) , ,

17,461 , , 1–2 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , , June 11 , ,

, , , ,

(25) , ,

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(4) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 1–3 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , , June 14 , ,

, , , ,

(18) , ,

(10) , ,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

(4) , , Amway Arena
17,461 , , 1–4

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

– Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA 1st Team, All-Defensive 1st Team, Rebounding Champion, Blocks Champion, All-Star *

– All-Star *

– All-Star

Records

*Orlando broke the 3-point record with 23 made 3-pointers on January 13, 2008 in Sacramento. *

led the league in 3-point field goals.

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Orlando Magic Season Orlando Magic seasons

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons 2008 in sports in Florida 2009 in sports in Florida