The 30 Biggest What-Ifs That Will Haunt NBA Finals History Forever | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

During that Jordan hiatus, the Orlando Magic were one of the teams that had an opportunity to sneak in a championship.

With a loaded young roster that included Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, the Magic made it to the 1995 Finals to face the reigning champion Rockets. They beat Jordan's Bulls on their way there.

And at the start of the series against Houston, it looked like they might go up 1-0.

After grabbing two offensive rebounds, Orlando had the ball with 10 seconds left and a three-point lead. The Rockets intentionally fouled Nick Anderson to stop the clock, sending him to the line for two free throws. He short-armed both, but he grabbed his own rebound on the second. Houston immediately fouled him again.

With 7.7 seconds left in the game, Anderson was headed to the line again. And again, he missed both.

Anderson had four chances to put the game on ice, and he missed them all.

When the Rockets finally got the ball back, Kenny Smith hit a game-tying three, and Houston went on to win in overtime and eventually sweep the series.

Now, Orlando was probably too young and inexperienced to go all the way that year. Olajuwon and the Rockets still would've been very much in the series if they'd lost Game 1, but the momentum of a Magic win also could've changed things dramatically.

If Shaq had won a title with Orlando, would he have gone to the Lakers in 1996? If Olajuwon only has one title instead of two, is his legacy viewed differently?

This is another Finals moment that easily could've generated limitless other timelines.