The 2008–09 Orlando Magic season was the 20th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Led by 23-year-old center Dwight Howard, the team finished the regular season with a 59–23 record, the most wins since the 1995–96 season. The Magic would go on to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the first round of the playoffs, highlighted by forward Hedo Türkoğlu's game winner in game four of that series. They followed it up by defeating the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in a tough, hard-fought seven-game series in the semi-finals. Finally, they defeated the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the conference finals, thanks to Howard's 40 points and 10 rebounds in Game 6, to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995, but would lose to the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
Following the season, Türkoğlu was traded to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal and Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee were all dealt to the New Jersey Nets. It was also Tyronn Lue’s last season as an NBA player, as 6 years later, he would return to the NBA, as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As of 2026, this is the last time the Magic have advanced to the NBA Finals.
Key dates June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City. July 1: The free agency period started. October 29: The Magic opened the season with a game against the Atlanta Hawks. December 12: Because of a sore left knee, Dwight Howard missed the first game of his professional career, ending a streak of 351 consecutive games played in.Magic beat Jazz despite Dwight Howard missing his first game as a pro January 13: The Magic scored an NBA record 23 three-pointers against the Sacramento Kings. Nine of the twelve Magic players who played that night scored at least one three pointer: Jameer Nelson (5), JJ Redick (4), Keith Bogans (4), Hedo Türkoğlu (3), Rashard Lewis (3), Courtney Lee (1), Anthony Johnson (1), Brian Cook (1), and Jeremy Richardson (1). February 2: Jameer Nelson left a game after dislocating his right shoulder. One day later, it was announced that he suffered a torn labrum, and would require surgery to repair it, meaning he would likely miss the rest of the season. A few days prior to the injury, Nelson had been named as a reserve in the All-Star Game. February 19: As part of a three-way trade, the Magic acquired Rafer Alston from the Houston Rockets. February 25: The Magic were assured a winning season after defeating the New York Knicks. March 11: The Magic clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Chicago Bulls. March 25: After beating the Boston Celtics, the Magic clinched their second consecutive division championship. With the win, they were also guaranteed of finishing the regular season with more wins than the previous season. April 15: The regular season ended, with the Magic finishing one win shy of matching a franchise record. April 21: Dwight Howard won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, becoming the youngest player to win the award as well as the first player of the Magic to do so. April 28: Rookie Courtney Lee was accidentally hit in the face by Dwight Howard during game 5 of the Magic's first round playoff series. The following day it was announced he would miss Game 6, suffering a fractured sinus.Lee injured after getting elbowed April 29: Dwight Howard was suspended for one game by the NBA for an incident in which Howard elbowed a Philadelphia 76ers player in the face the previous night in Game 5 of the Magic's first round playoff series.Howard out for Game 6 April 30: The Magic advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games. May 17: In a Game 7 on the road, the Magic advanced to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 1996 after defeating the defending champion Boston Celtics. May 30: The Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–2 to advance to the 2009 NBA Finals and made their first appearance since 1995. June 9: The Magic earned their first NBA Finals game victory in franchise history. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 at Amway Arena by a score of 108–104. The Magic shot an NBA Finals single-game record 75% in the first half, and a record 62.5% for the entire game.Hot shooting, balanced scoring lift Magic in Game 3 The Magic had lost their first six NBA Finals games (four in 1995 and two in 2009). June 14: The Magic's season ended, having lost the NBA Finals in five games to the Lakers.
Offseason
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 22 Courtney Lee Shooting guard American Western Kentucky
Roster
Regular season The first half of the 2008–09 season went very well for the Magic. After 41 games, the Magic were 33–8, leading the Southeast Division, as well as having one of the top four records in the league. On January 13, 2009, they scored an NBA record 23 three-pointers against the Sacramento Kings. Nine of the twelve Magic players who played that night scored at least one three pointer. At the start of February, Jameer Nelson, their all-star starting point guard, went down with a shoulder injury which caused him to miss the remainder of the season. The Magic then began a stretch where they did not win or lose consecutive games for almost the entire month. The Magic did make a deal at the trade deadline with the Houston Rockets for Rafer Alston. Still having to deal with the absence of Nelson though, Orlando managed to maintain one of the top records in the league, secured a second straight winning season, and clinched a playoff berth in mid-March. The Magic defeated the defending champion Boston Celtics to capture their second consecutive division championship, and on the same night assured themselves of winning more games than the previous season. Finishing the regular season with a 59–23 record, it was the most games the team had won in a season since the 1995–96 season in which they had 60 wins.
Standings
Game log
|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | October 29 | Atlanta | | Dwight Howard (22) | Dwight Howard (15) | Anthony Johnson (3) | Amway Arena17,461 | 0–1 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | October 31 | @ Memphis | | Rashard Lewis (23) | Dwight Howard (14) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | FedExForum16,139 | 0–2
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 3 | November 1 | Sacramento | | Dwight Howard (29) | Dwight Howard (14) | Rashard Lewis (6) | Amway Arena16,704 | 1–2 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 4 | November 3 | Chicago | | Dwight Howard (22) | Dwight Howard (15) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Arena15,606 | 2–2 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 5 | November 6 | Philadelphia | | Rashard Lewis, Hedo Türkoğlu (20) | Rashard Lewis, Hedo Türkoğlu, Dwight Howard (8) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Arena16,407 | 3–2 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 6 | November 8 | Washington | | Dwight Howard (31) | Dwight Howard (16) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Amway Arena16,911 | 4–2 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | November 10 | Portland | | Hedo Türkoğlu (35) | Dwight Howard (19) | Jameer Nelson (7) | Amway Arena14,210 | 4–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 8 | November 12 | @ Oklahoma City | | Dwight Howard (30) | Dwight Howard (19) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Ford Center18,185 | 5–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 9 | November 14 | @ Dallas | | Rashard Lewis (23) | Dwight Howard (13) | Anthony Johnson (6) | American Airlines Center20,085 | 6–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 10 | November 16 | @ Charlotte | | Hedo Türkoğlu (20) | Tony Battie, Dwight Howard (7) | Hedo Türkoğlu (4) | Time Warner Cable Arena12,639 | 7–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 11 | November 18 | Toronto | | Rashard Lewis, Hedo Türkoğlu, Jameer Nelson (22) | Dwight Howard (9) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Arena16,353 | 8–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 12 | November 21 | @ Indiana | | Dwight Howard (24) | Dwight Howard (17) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Conseco Fieldhouse14,699 | 9–3 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 13 | November 22 | Houston | | Jameer Nelson (21) | Dwight Howard (9) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Amway Arena17,461 | 9–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 14 | November 24 | Milwaukee | | Dwight Howard (24) | Dwight Howard (13) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Amway Arena16,245 | 10–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 15 | November 26 | @ Philadelphia | | Dwight Howard (21) | Dwight Howard (14) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Wachovia Center14,985 | 11–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 16 | November 27 | @ Washington | | Dwight Howard (26) | Dwight Howard (14) | Anthony Johnson (12) | Verizon Center13,295 | 12–4 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 17 | November 29 | Indiana | | Dwight Howard (32) | Dwight Howard (21) | Anthony Johnson, JJ Redick (4) | Amway Arena17,172 | 13–4
|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | December 1 | @ Boston | | Rashard Lewis (30) | Dwight Howard (15) | Hedo Türkoğlu, Anthony Johnson (4) | TD Banknorth Garden18,624 | 13–5 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 19 | December 3 | Minnesota | | Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard (23) | Dwight Howard (14) | Rashard Lewis (5) | Amway Arena15,705 | 14–5 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 20 | December 5 | Oklahoma City | | Dwight Howard (21) | Dwight Howard (23) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Arena16,812 | 15–5 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 21 | December 8 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Dwight Howard (23) | Dwight Howard (22) | Hedo Türkoğlu (6) | Staples Center15,222 | 16–5 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 22 | December 9 | @ Portland | | Rashard Lewis (27) | Rashard Lewis (9) | Jameer Nelson (6) | Rose Garden20,642 | 17–5 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 23 | December 12 | @ Phoenix | | Dwight Howard (19) | Rashard Lewis (8) | Jameer Nelson, Anthony Johnson (6) | US Airways Center18,422 | 17–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 24 | December 13 | @ Utah | | Rashard Lewis (27) | Rashard Lewis (9) | Jameer Nelson (6) | EnergySolutions Arena19,911 | 18–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 25 | December 15 | @ Golden State | | Jameer Nelson (32) | Marcin Gortat (13) | Hedo Türkoğlu (8) | Oracle Arena18,844 | 19–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 26 | December 18 | San Antonio | | Jameer Nelson (24) | Dwight Howard (13) | Jameer Nelson (7) | Amway Arena17,461 | 20–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 27 | December 20 | L.A. Lakers | | Jameer Nelson (27) | Dwight Howard (12) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Arena17,461 | 21–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 28 | December 22 | Golden State | | Jameer Nelson (22) | Dwight Howard (11) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Arena17,461 | 22–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 29 | December 25 | New Orleans | | Hedo Türkoğlu (20) | Dwight Howard (15) | Hedo Türkoğlu (5) | Amway Arena17,461 | 23–6 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 30 | December 27 | @ Minnesota | | Hedo Türkoğlu (26) | Hedo Türkoğlu, Rashard Lewis (7) | Jameer Nelson (8) | Target Center17,003 | 24–6 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 31 | December 29 | @ Detroit | | Rashard Lewis (23) | Dwight Howard (18) | Hedo Türkoğlu (8) | The Palace of Auburn Hills22,076 | 24–7 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 32 | December 31 | @ Chicago | | Rashard Lewis (21) | Dwight Howard (14) | Jameer Nelson (5) | United Center21,861 | 25–7
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 33 | January 2 | Miami | | Rashard Lewis (17) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (5) | Amway Arena17,461 | 26–7 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 34 | January 4 | @ Toronto | | Dwight Howard (39) | Dwight Howard (8) | Rashard Lewis (9) | Air Canada Centre19,322 | 26–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 35 | January 6 | Washington | | Hedo Türkoğlu (22) | Dwight Howard (16) | Hedo Türkoğlu (7) | Amway Arena16,011 | 27–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 36 | January 7 | @ Atlanta | | Dwight Howard (23) | Dwight Howard (19) | Hedo Türkoğlu (8) | Philips Arena13,748 | 28–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 37 | January 9 | Atlanta | | Hedo Türkoğlu (21) | Marcin Gortat (11) | Jameer Nelson (9) | Amway Arena17,461 | 29–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 38 | January 11 | @ San Antonio | | Dwight Howard (24) | Dwight Howard (14) | Jameer Nelson, Hedo Türkoğlu (5) | AT&T Center18,216 | 30–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 39 | January 13 | @ Sacramento | | Dwight Howard (25) | Dwight Howard (15) | Jameer Nelson (11) | ARCO Arena11,168 | 31–8 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 40 | January 16 | @ L.A. Lakers |