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.
[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 in fourth place 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.
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.
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.