The Orlando Magic are finalizing a deal to hire San Antonio Spurs lead assistant coach Sean Sweeney as their next head coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Under head coach Mitch Johnson this past season, Sweeney ran San Antonio’s defense, which finished as the third-best defense in the league and helped the Spurs win 62 games. Prior to this year, Sweeney had assistant coaching stops with the Dallas Mavericks (2021-2025), Detroit Pistons (2018-2021), Milwaukee Bucks (2014-2018) and Brooklyn Nets
(2013-2014).
Sweeney will finish the postseason with the Spurs, Charania reported. That means Sweeney will be on the bench Saturday night when San Antonio faces the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, as well as for any NBA Finals games if San Antonio advances.
Sweeney, who will be a first-time head coach in Orlando, had become a popular name in head coaching searches around the league in recent years. He was a finalist for head coaching jobs with the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns over the last two years.
Even with the buzz in recent seasons (and some Blazer’s Edge readers pointing to Sweeney), no substantial rumors had connected Sweeney to the Portland Trail Blazers’ extensive and ongoing head coaching search. To win the Orlando job, Charania reported Sweeney beat out one of the reported finalists in Portland’s search: Jeff Van Gundy.
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 will replace Jamahl Mosley as the head coach of the Magic. Orlando fired Mosley after the No. 8-seeded Magic blew a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the playoffs to the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons and were eliminated in a Game 7 blowout. The New Orleans Pelicans have already hired Mosley to become their next head coach.
Sweeney will inherit a talented roster — including Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane — that has underachieved in recent seasons, in part due to extensive injury problems.
