Orlando, FL— Despite an honorable and memorable night for Shaquille O’Neal and the entire Orlando Magic community, it unfortunately came in a losing effort tonight over the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Thunder defeated the Magic 127-113.

Feb.13th, 2024 will remain a historic night for the Orlando Magic organization as they have now officially retired the jersey number (32) of Shaquille O’Neal, who now becomes the first player in team history to have achieved that honor.

Shaquille O’Neal was the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, and he helped lead this franchise to incredible heights in his four seasons in Orlando. Shaq had earned the 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, and during the 1994-95 season, he held the scoring title and led the Magic to the NBA Finals.

“You know there’s a little saying never forget where you come from, and my professional career started here.” Shaquille O’Neal on how much of an impact the fans have had on him here in Orlando. “ Fans have been hospitable, the people have been very very hospitable, I never thought this day would happen– I was not expecting this, but like I said I’ll take it.”

Shaq’s ceremony was held postgame with speeches from former teammates such as Penny Hardaway, Dennis Scott, and former Magic Head Coach Brian Hill. The evening also featured speeches from owner and Chairman of the Orlando Magic Dan DeVos, CEO Alex Martins, and our very own broadcaster David Steele. “You made me great by watching you be great.” Penny Hardaway on Shaq’s impact on his NBA career.

Shaq concluded his speech by sharing his level of gratitude to his former teammates, coaches, staff members, and the fans who have helped him cement his legacy here in the Orlando Magic community.

This was the Orlando Magic’s first nationally televised game in over a decade and it featured two of the best young teams in the association. Oklahoma City came into this game as the number two seed in the Western Conference, with Shai-Gilgeous Alexander leading this team as he is currently one of the league leaders in the MVP discussion. Orlando was riding high as they were winners of five out of their last six, and third-year Forward Franz Wagner had scored 30+ points in three of his last four matchups.

Third-year Guard Jalen Suggs got this Orlando team ignited in that first half as he connected on four out of his five three-point attempts and led the team with 14 points in that first half alone. The Magic did a great job of limiting Shai-Gilgeous Alexander in that first half to 3-11 shooting from the field and he was a -8 when on the court. Despite 11 turnovers in that first half, Orlando found themselves only trailing by single-digits going into the halftime locker room 60-52.

After an interesting back-and-forth game in that first half, the Thunder pulled away and never looked back in that second half. The Magic found themselves down by 10 points going into the fourth period, but second-year Forward Jalen Williams took over in the fourth quarter, and that Thunder team never looked back.

Jalen Williams in the second half scored 19 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and he was able to get any and everything he wanted. Williams took it inside and would get downhill with force with tough layups over Cole Anthony and around Paolo Banchero. Jalen even stepped it out to the three-point line confidently knocking down multiple jumpers to keep extending the Thunder lead. Jalen Williams led all scorers tonight with 33 points on an efficient 12-18 shooting and 3-6 from deep.

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander was also a key contributor to putting the Magic away as he scored 24 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and was able to get to the line for eight more free throw attempts all in the second half. Shai finished the evening with 32 points on 11-24 shooting and he chipped in two steals defensively.

Orlando’s Paolo Banchero was the only consistent source of energy for this team all evening as he played a well-rounded game with 23 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. This was the first nationally televised game for Banchero despite being the number one overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, winning the Rookie of the Year Award, and now being named an All-Star in his second season in the league.

Orlando didn’t do a great job of taking care of the ball as they had 16 turnovers on the evening, shot a porous 11-36 from deep, and allowed 15 fast break points. It’s a recipe for disaster when you’re playing one of the best teams in the association that will capitalize on your mistakes if you give it to them.

“Well, I think a little bit of that is just finding the timing of things.” Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on Markelle Fultz being the only starter to not play 20+ minutes and not be featured in the fourth quarter. “And when guys are getting out of the game, there was a rhythm that was happening for a moment, and then we lost that rhythm.”

The Magic have to quickly forget about this loss and they will play host to the New York Knicks tomorrow evening here at the Kia Center. This will be the Magic’s final game of their four-game home stand and the last game they will play before the NBA All-Star break.