In his fifth season, Magic started to post gaudy numbers on a nightly basis at the age of 24. His assists per game increased from 10.5 to 13.1 while averaging 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals across 67 games. Altogether, that's good for a box plus-minus of 6.1.

Magic also racked up a rate of .191 win shares per 48 minutes. In 2,567 minutes, that amounted to 10.2 win shares for the 54-28 Lakers. Coach Pat Riley and company would make a trip to the playoffs once again, but they fell short to the Celtics in the 1984 Finals.