The 1994–95 season was Orlando's sixth in the NBA. After building through the draft in previous years, the Magic made themselves even stronger by signing free agents Horace Grant and Brian Shaw. Grant gave the Magic one of the most dominant starting lineups in the NBA. Shaquille O'Neal continued to dominate the NBA with 29.3 points per game. The Magic easily won the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record. They also finished with a 39–2 home record, tied for second best in NBA history. Anfernee Hardaway was selected to play in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game along with O'Neal.

In the playoffs the Magic overwhelmed the Boston Celtics with a 124–77 victory in Game 1. The Magic would eliminate the Celtics in the Boston Garden. These matches would be the final 2 basketball games ever played at the Garden.

In the second round, the Magic were matched up against the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were on an emotional high as Michael Jordan had just returned from baseball career to play basketball. Jordan was now wearing the number 45 for the Bulls. The Magic won the first game 94–91. Tensions rose when Nick Anderson indicated that Jordan was no longer the same player when Anderson was quoted by the media saying, "Number 23, he could just blow right by you! Number 45, he revs up, but doesn't really take off." The comment motivated Jordan to return to number 23 and the Bulls evened the series. In Game 5, the Magic won the game 103–95. The Magic would eliminate the Bulls in Game 6 as the Magic won 108–102 to advance to the Conference Finals.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic would beat the Indiana Pacers in a tough 7-game series that saw the home team win every game.

The Magic were off to their first ever NBA Finals. The Magic faced off against the defending NBA Champion Houston Rockets. Shaq would be up against Hakeem Olajuwon in a battle of All-Star Centers. Game 1 was played in Orlando and the game was lost at the free throw line. Anderson missed four consecutive free throws with the Magic up by three at waning seconds of the game and the Rockets tied the game at the buzzer. The Rockets would then win Game 1 in overtime. The Magic would not recover from their Game 1 loss as the Rockets swept the series in 4 straight.

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