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On this day in 1992, the Orlando Magic selected 7-foot-1 center Shaquille O’Neal of Louisiana State University with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
The 1992 NBA Draft took place in Portland, Oregon, marking the first time the event was held outside of New York. O’Neal and the rest of the rookie class attended the NBA Draft at the Memorial Coliseum, the original home of the Trail Blazers.
O’Neal was named the Rookie of the Year after averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 1.9 assists in 81 games played. He finished second among all players in both rebounds and blocks and was the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1985 to be named an All-Star.
The eventual Hall of Famer helped lead the Magic to a 41-41 record as a rookie, an improvement of 20 wins over the previous season. The Magic narrowly missed the playoffs that season after losing the tiebreaker to the Indiana Pacers.
O’Neal would ultimately spend the first four seasons of his career with the Magic before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. His 27.2 points per game average is the second-highest in Magic history.
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