The Orlando Magic are finalizing a deal to hire San Antonio Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney as the franchise's new head coach, sources told ESPN on Friday.
The Orlando Magic are finalizing a deal to hire San Antonio Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney as the franchise's new head coach, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Sweeney, who has spent this season as San Antonio's lead assistant, will replace Jamahl Mosley, who was fired after the Magic lost 4-3 to Detroit in their first-round series, and has since become the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Sweeney will finish the remainder of the postseason on the Spurs bench, including Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, which is set for Saturday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a berth in the NBA Finals on the line.
Former Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy were also finalists for the Magic's coaching vacancy, sources said. Sweeney, Donovan and Van Gundy held in-person meetings with top Magic officials last week before a decision was made to offer the job to Sweeney, who blew away Orlando during his interview process and meeting with ownership on Wednesday in San Antonio, sources added.
Sweeney ran San Antonio's defense for Coach of the Year finalist Mitch Johnson this season, guiding an improvement from 25th to third in the NBA's defensive efficiency rankings, garnering praise from the team's young stars Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.
The Spurs also ranked top-5 in defending isolations, on-ball screens, drives and rim protection, according to ESPN Research. Under Sweeney, the Spurs made a 28-win improvement to a 62-20 campaign -- tied for the third-most wins in franchise history -- and have advanced to the conference finals. Sweeney has served as a lead assistant to a conference finalist in three of the last five seasons.
Sweeney's first head coaching job will be with a Magic team built to contend in the Eastern Conference with one-time NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs. Orlando has failed to make it out of the first round for three straight seasons.
The Magic led top-seeded Detroit 3-1 but didn't have enough offense to close out the Pistons, especially after Wagner suffered a series-ending right calf strain in Game 4. Orlando lost three straight games and dismissed Mosley.
Sweeney, 41, has experience working with superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Luka Doncic in Dallas and Wembanyama in San Antonio. Sweeney's specialty is defense and will inherit a Magic team that was a stellar defensive squad under Mosley. Sweeney has interviewed for several head coaching openings in recent years and was a finalist for the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns over the last two years.
Sweeney spent the previous four seasons as Jason Kidd's lead assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, coordinating the offense and defense during the Mavs' run to the 2024 NBA Finals, earning a reputation as one of the best X's and O's minds among the league's assistant coaches.
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