Magic's 2009 Finals vs. Lakers Makes Hypothetical NBA List
Magic's 2009 Finals vs. Lakers Makes Hypothetical NBA List originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Orlando Magic have shown that they have a bright future with their young core of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. However, the Magic were contenders for the NBA championship during the late 2000s. The organization even reached the NBA Finals in 2009 and battled against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Orlando had a promising postseason run that year. In the first round, they beat the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. That was followed by a seven-game series against the Boston Celtics in the second round.
Upon reaching the Eastern Conference finals, the Magic faced the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. Orlando outplayed Cleveland in six games to advance to the Finals.
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Amway Center.Kim Klement-Imagn Images
With the 2025 NBA Finals underway, Bleacher Report's Matt Velasquez released 15 of the biggest "What-Ifs" since 2000. Surprisingly, the Magic's Game 4 performance against the Lakers made it to the list.
The Magic were up 87-84 with 11.1 seconds left. Their franchise star at that time, Dwight Howard, was on the line to shoot two free throws. However, Howard isn't the most reliable player when it comes to shooting from the line, as the three-time Defensive Player of the Year shot 59.4% during the 2008-09 season.
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Howard missed both shots, and the Lakers got the basketball. With 4.6 seconds left, Los Angeles' point guard Derek Fisher shot a 3-pointer and sent the game to overtime.
The Magic dealt with a 99-91 defeat and fell to 3-1. Orlando couldn't overcome the deficit and lost the series in five games.
"But what if Howard had made one (or both) of those free throws and helped the Magic hold on? Then the series would have been tied at two games apiece with Game 5 in Orlando. Had the series been even at that point, there's no telling what could have happened," Velasquez wrote.
The Magic couldn't capture what they had that year and were eliminated in the conference finals the following year. The next two seasons were underwhelming as they were eliminated in the first round.
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This also led to the eventual breakup of Howard and the Magic.
Related: Blockbuster NBA Trade Idea Has Hawks Swap Trae Young for Three Former Lottery Picks
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
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