Instances of The Curse: The Free Throws that Haunt Sir Nick

n 1997 the history of professional basketball was changed inexplicably.

It was that summer when Shaquille O'Neal left the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and leaped across the nation to the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland. It was that summer that the Los Angeles Lakers became a championship contender while the Orlando Magic were left to pick up the pieces.

It was that summer that the Curse of the Big Aristotle was born.

Ever since Orlando won that fateful Draft Lottery in 1992, the team's history would forever be tied with O'Neal's. He led the Magic to their first and only NBA Finals three years later (where they were swept by the defending champion Rockets).

His departure left a gaping 7-foot-1, 300-plus pound hole in Orlando's front line. The Magic were forced to watch from the sidelines as the Lakers won title after title while they slipped into mediocrity and irrelevancy.

It was at this moment the Curse of the Big Aristotle began. This is an instance of the Curse at work:

Nick Anderson stepped to the line in the late stages of Game One of the 1995 NBA Finals. It was the dream season for a young franchise.

It was Year Six of the grand Orlando basketball experiment -- the team's second postseason appearance -- and the team had reached the pinnacle of the NBA. These young guns had no clue what they were getting themselves into.

Shaquille O'Neal was the next big thing. Penny Hardaway was probably still better known for the Chris Rock puppet he walked around with. Horace Grant was all about the goggles. Brian Hill was still a venerable young coach. Dennis Scott was (Dennis Scott, among other things) O'Neal's one-man rapping posse.

And Nick Anderson was, well, he was the link to the franchise's young past. The first draft pick in team history. He was the role player every great team needed. He defended. He hit 3-pointers.

But under the bright lights, the team faced adversity. Orlando lost a 12-point lead and led by three as time ran down in Game One.

Anderson toed the line. He was a 70.4 percent shooter from the foul line. Not great, but not horrible either. It would be impossible to think he could miss two foul shots in a row. Right?

He missed the two shots. For reference after missing the first two free throws, to get back to his average Anderson would make his next five (that would be 71 percent from the line). There is no way he could miss four in a row.

After grabbing the rebound on his second miss, Anderson was fouled and went back to the line. Anderson clanked the next two. Again for reference, to get back to 70 percent he would have to hit his next ten free throws. Pretty impossible to miss four in a row.

He did and it left the door open. A door Kenny Smith made sure he led the Houston Rockets through. The rest, as they say, is history.

Hakeem Olajuwon tipped in the go-ahead bucket in overtime with 0.2 seconds left and gave the Rockets the Game One win. The Magic never recovered and were easily swept out of the NBA Finals.

It was widely assumed Orlando would return to the Finals soon. O'Neal was the next big thing. Hardaway was the next medium thing. And the team had a bright future.

Then Michael Jordan happened. And Orlando never got its chance. Soon O'Neal left for Los Angeles (where he won three titles). And so the Curse began to be cast.

Anderson was never the same. He never shot above 70 percent from the foul line the rest of his career and shot a paltry 40.4 percent in 1996-97. He never was the same.

Despite this, Anderson is -- and should be -- remembered for the great things he did as Orlando's first player. His steal on Michael Jordan in the Conference Semifinals is the greatest play in team history.