The 2011–12 Orlando Magic season was the 23rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team finished in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 37–29 record in a regular season shortened by the lockout and an offseason where trade rumours that included starting center Dwight Howard abounded. After the Magic's playoff loss against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the Orlando franchise parted ways with head coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith. The Amway Center, the Magic's home court, was the venue of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.
June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.December 18: The Magic had the first of their two-game preseason against Miami at American Airlines Arena.December 25: The regular season begins and the Magic have an away game at Oklahoma City. This is the Magic's first regular season game. They lost the season opener 89-97.December 26: The Magic had their first home game of the regular season at the Amway Center. They played the Houston Rockets. The Magic also achieved their first win of the season, with a score of 104-95.April 15: Orlando secures a playoff spot with a 100–84 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.Due to the 2011 NBA lockout negotiations, the programmed pre-season schedule, along with the first two weeks of the regular season were scrapped, and a two-game pre-season was set for each team once the lockout concluded.
a Statistics with the Orlando Magic.Awards and records
Ryan Anderson won the NBA Most Improved Player Award.Dwight Howard was selected to the All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Defensive First Team and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (January 16 – January 22).Dwight Howard attempted a record 39 free throws against the Golden State Warriors, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of 34 set in 1962.Dwight Howard made his sixth All-Star appearance at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game held in Orlando.Ryan Anderson participated in the Three-Point Contest.Jameer Nelson participated in the Shooting Stars Competition along Phoenix Mercury player Marie Ferdinand-Harris and former Orlando Magic player Dennis Scott.Injuries and disciplinary actions
Hedo Türkoğlu underwent surgery to repair a facial fracture sustained during a game against the New York Knicks on April 5 and missed the remainder of the regular season.Glen Davis was suspended 2 games by the team for conduct detrimental to the team. A month later he was fined USD 35,000 by the league for making an obscene gesture in a game against the Toronto Raptors.Hedo Türkoğlu was suspended 1 game by the league for making intentional contact with an official during a game against the Chicago Bulls.Chris Duhon was suspended 1 game by the team for violating team rules.In April, Dwight Howard underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back and was out for the remainder of the season.Many players signed with teams from other leagues due to the 2011 NBA lockout. FIBA allows players under NBA contracts to sign and play for teams from other leagues if the contracts have opt-out clauses that allow the players to return to the NBA if the lockout ends. The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.
