[4][5][6][7] Penny Hardaway stepped up in O'Neal's absence, and was awarded Player of the Month for November,[8] as the Magic got off to a 13–2 start, and later held a 34–14 record at the All-Star break.
[9] At mid-season, the team traded Jeff Turner to the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Kenny Gattison, who never played for the Magic due to arm and neck injuries.
[41][42][43] The Magic suffered another painful blow when Anderson went down with a wrist injury in a 86–67 home loss in Game 3, and he was also out for the rest of the series.
The Bulls would defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in six games in the NBA Finals, winning their fourth championship in six years.
The Eastern Conference finals saw the Magic face the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, a team they had eliminated in the previous years playoffs.
With Horace Grant out with an elbow injury from Game 1, the dominant Chicago Bulls would prove to be too strong for the Orlando this year, sweeping the series 4-0 and denying the Magic consecutive trips to the NBA finals.