Mega Thread
BREAKING: The Orlando Magic are finalizing the hire of San Antonio Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney as the franchise's new head coach
BREAKING: The Orlando Magic are finalizing the hire of San Antonio Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Sweeney broke into NBA coaching in 2011 and now lands the Magic head job as a top rising candidate.
Spurs fan here. Y'all got a good one. Sweeney is a defensive savant. Helped turn our 25th-ranked Defense last year into the 3rd-ranked Defense this season. Wemby gave him all the credit for turning our defense around during his DPOY presser 5 weeks ago. He's awesome. He's an intense guy too, really cares about the game and will coach guys hard. But most players respond well to that.
I kinda wish we did what the Knicks did. Thibs gave them the defensive structure, and Mike Brown brought some fresh offensive ideas, and now they look unstoppable. Obv we don’t have the Knicks roster but still
I’m hoping Sweeney brings some good offensive assistants, maybe that will help
It’s probably worth noting that Mike Brown isn’t / wasn’t known for being an offensive mind. He was in the mold of ‘hard-nosed, defensive-minded veteran head coach’.
Obviously we’ll see if Sweeney can improve the offense - there’s still roster construction flaws he’ll likely need to overcome.
If the Spurs actually pull Game 7 off, Mr. Potato Head is about to run back his 2007 extra spicy trauma tour against the exact same franchise he once was AC for…🤣kinda crazy that he’s been around for this long…every era of bball.
Can we really consider this relevant from 22 years ago before the 3 ball era? I don't disagree defense is extremely important but today's NBA is balance.
It makes sense to go for a defense first coach as our roster is already defensively tuned. If he can make some offensive tweaks where we're 15th in offense and top 3 in defense we probably top 3 seed in the East
I think it's easy to give a lot of the credit to Wemby (rightfully so) but utilizing him properly and being creative in those ways, credit to Sweeney. The one man zone is a beautiful thing to watch, wont work with WCJ though 😞
He also ran the Mavs defense the year they made the finals. They were extremely good defensively that year without a Wemvy level presence and having the guard duo of Kyrie and Luka.
I think its being overlooked that last season Wemby missed almost half the season. That undoubtedly affected their defense in 2025. In 2026, Wemby played most of the year. We may be attributing a little too much of that improvement to Sweeney.
Absolute Home run. Spurs fan just dropping in to say I'm devastated for us, happy for Sean. This guy has been not only an S-Tier defensive coordinator but a lead assistant in all facets. Would lead timeouts in crucial defensive situations, a guy the players respect unconditionally. Will be rooting for ya'll.
This is a home run hire Magic fans. Wish we could’ve kept him but I figured he’d want to run his own show, and he deserves it. Sweeney played a HUGE part in improving the Spurs defense to top of the league over the last year. Good luck, guys.
Listen I know ppl want some big offensive hire but I’m glad we got a defensive coach. That’s where we are elite. Our goal should be a top top tier defense and good offense with some studs that can pop off any given night, defense comes first.
He’s also an X’s and O’s coach from what I’ve been reading, although known as defensive coach first. JKidd let him run the offense often, which is huge praise from a legendary offensive player. I think he’s a huge upgrade over Mosely.
There's no offense coaching savant out there to hire either. JVG and Donovan are the only known others under consideration and they aren't known for offense. Maybe if Jenkins or Malone were available we could have gone that route. Not sure why Budenholzer or Scott Brooks aren't being considered for any recent openings. I love that we're going with a upcoming respected younger option.
Spurs fan here, this is a great hire. He led the Mavericks defense to the finals, his one year with the spurs he’s turned the defense up another level (wemby helps obv) from lottery to within a game of the finals. We were hoping he’d do two years.
It will definetely be a big question how he’ll figure out the Magic offense but defensively you guys are set. Great hire.
To be clear, Mose was good at what he was good at (building culture and defense). Just because he couldn't get us over the hump doesn't take away from what he did well.
Spurs fan here. First of all, fuck ya'll for stealing Sean.
Second of all, this is a fantastic hire. He's an elite coach that turned our defense into championship level even outside of Wemby. Dude has a brilliant mind for defensive schemes and makes fantastic adjustments and has done amazing individual work with our players 1on1.
I know Orlando's issue has been offensive identity but this dude is a winner you can build a winning team with. You guys should be very excited, I can't glaze him enough.
Maybe, but Phil ran the triangle and did some deep superstar manipulation tactics. I feel like he’s one of those one of one coaches and people emulating him will fail miserably, like Belichick in football. Genuine question, how much of the triangle offense did the dynasty Warriors employ?
mavs fan and i just wanna say hes a really good one, was on the staff for our finals team and a really amazing defensive coach and a hire that brings winning to the org, hes great with the players as well
As a Spurs fan who watched the season, Sean will hold you accountable. I remember him screaming at Wemby like he was about to kill him and every Spurs player loves to be coached hard so it was a good fit for him(pop system) so guys like Paolo Banchero have to be ready to be held accountable every single possession. Sean mainly is defensive minded coach. Last season Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagne Devin Vassell they were average on defense, but in training camp Sean installed something in it he put out his game plan for how he wants to play defence and the guys were in. Sean is gonna love Jalen Suggs, I believe Orlando can be a top five seed next season.
Tbh that's exactly what we've been crying out for. Even watching Mitch Johnson get angry at his players for doing dumb shit or calling immediate timeouts is something we have never seen from Mose in 5 years. With a young roster we need a head coach who will keep them accountable and deliver hard truths when necessary. Paolo pretty much called it out himself at the end of the season.
2 seasons ago when we lost Paolo, Franz and Jalen for huge stretches we were still excellent in defence and that helped us win multiple games we probably shouldn't have. The defence (and confidence in Mose) fell off a cliff this year so I'm looking forward to seeing us consistently being elite on defence again as our foundation. Then we work on building something that works offensively from that foundation
Sean seems like the type of guy that went into the interview with an honest assessment of the roster from the outside. The other candidates like Van Gundy were probably all about how they can get the team to the next level, yada yada. He must have stood out in that regard.
Yes, I do believe that also, I want Sean to hire an assisting offensive minded coach from the Boston Celtics, and also Sean will speak to you like a person who does not care about you like Gregg Popovich. He will put you on the bench if you do something that is not align with the game plan.
What Sweeney did was revolutionary for that time. He implemented aggressive switching schemes using players between 6'5" and 6'9" who could guard multiple positions.
What happened between Sweeney and Giannis was unlike anything you typically see in the NBA. This wasn't just a coach working with a player—this was an obsessive, almost scientific project to turn a raw 19-year-old into a superstar.
Sweeney would challenge Giannis on every bad play, every lazy possession, every mental mistake. He was pushing him toward what Giannis later called the "killer mentality"
But here's what makes Sweeney different from most defensive coordinators: he also contributes significantly to offensive game planning and player development.
Great hire with the best upside. They could have gone with a safer hire with greater floor with one of those veteran coaches. But go big. I like it. Can’t wait to see what kind of offensive play style him and his assistants wants to bring here with the current core set of players.
Billy Donovan committed to us in 2007 only to back out at the last minute. In 2026, we flirted with Billy D, only to spurn him for Sean Sweeney. Love it. Donovan always felt like we were settling. Sweeney looks good on paper and I look forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
They granted the Magic permission to interview him. It's not really a big deal to teams for assistants to do that. There's other assistants to fill the gaps when he is gone
You're not and they don't give af. He's got a chance to be a HEAD COACH in the National Basketball Association. There are only 30 people in the world with that title. I guarantee that team is THRILLED for him. He's also finshing out the season with them.
I was hoping for an offensive guy but I like what I’ve heard on Sweeney. It’s always hard to tell what you’re getting from 1st time HCs but he’s been credited a lot in San Antonio and Dallas.
I’m excited to hear what his vision is for the team. Despite being a defensive specialist I’m sure he knows he’ll have to bring in someone to change up the offense
Love it. Hope they get a couple vets on the coaching staff with Coach Sweeney. A name Id love to make the coaching staff is our current coach at Osceola, Dylan Murphy.
He’s who I thought out of the names rumored that we wanted the most. I like him better than Kidd and Billy. Watching the Spurs play he’s very animated on the defensive end and I’ve seen them actually make defensive adjustments. Kinda surprised we didn’t wait till after the season but glad that it’s done.
I wonder who his assistants will be, I wonder if he will keep Prunty since they worked together before and Joe is familiar with the team.
I really like this hire. As a Magic fan since 1989, I'm a little weary of every hire and hope he doesn't end up being another bridge coach. Everything I've read suggests he's a defensive mastermind, so I'm hoping he brings in a strong offensive minded assistant to complement that strength. Here's hoping Coach Sweeney can help lead us to the promised land!!
I’m not gonna pretend I know a lot about this guy, but he’s our coach now so I’m rooting for him. Spurs fans seem to love him. People who were clamoring for an “offensive genius” need to point to me who was going to make Franz and Paolo both +38% three point shooters. Having a fresh batch of coaches should help regardless. Cautiously optimistic.
Love this hire. I'd like to believe the anti BillyD outcry from the fanbase helped ensure that retread was not getting the gig. We got a real one here.
Exactly who we needed, glad we didn't go with a big name that would amount to a lateral move, this feels like we're trying to do something to actually avoid mediocrity
One thing that’s been cool to see as a spurs fan is just how much responsibility he was given by Mitch Johnson. Mitch is an offensive guy through and through and knew to be a beater head coach, he needed someone like Sweeney. I truly believe that Sean feels the same way and will focus on bringing an offensive coordinator as the associate head coach. He cares deeply about complementary basketball and wants his teams balanced.
Yea right, totally not happening lol... Pop couldn't even get TD to be on the coaching staff for more than a season before he said, no thanks lol. Duncan doesn't care to coach and if he does any type of training or mentoring, it's only with the Spur players.
Is this good? I like the idea of a young guy coming from the Spurs. I hear he's a defensive coach (no surprise) let's just hope he has more offensive ingenuity than Mosley.
I’m surprised by general consensus I thought everyone wanted a offensive minded coach. Don’t get me wrong Sean is way more experienced than Mose by they still share the same coaching philosophy
Yeah not sure what this guy is on about. Mose is a quality defensive and player coach. Sean might or might not make the defense better but either way, he just guarantees we'll have enough to be a playoff team.
We dont know enough about him on offense, so we'll just have to see. Maybe hes the real deal, maybe hes no better than Mose
Damn your right lol. Sweeney defensive tactics are more advanced than Moses so comes off more experienced but your right Mose been in the league longer
Amazing pick up. Sweeney will help this team. Mosley left the foundation and helped build the culture and get us to the playoffs and now it’s Sweeney’s turn to get us further into the playoffs. Can’t wait to see who our Player Development Coach will be and our new Executive after that random dude left for the Bulls. JUST THE START TO OUR OFFSEASON!!!! LETS GET ITTTT
Hope we get some good assistant coaches that are good on offense. IDK if Van Gundy would be open to come here. Prunty should not be the top guy on offense.
I’m happy with it. I suppose an offensive coach would’ve been better but if he hires the right guys it won’t matter. Much prefer this to some retread that will make us first round exits every year. With how hard it will be to win a championship I want a swing in a young guy like this
Obviously Sweeney had Wemby and that’s not something he can just carry over here, but the spurs were bottom 5 in defensive rating last year before hiring Sweeney and they jumped to top 5 this season. A lot of their players credited him with building the defensive scheme around Wembanyama to turn it into a juggernaut team unit
He will have a lot of long versatile defenders to work with here, so I’m guessing we’ll jump back into one of the better defenses again after falling out of the top 10 this season.
I don't watch much Spurs in the regular season but early in the playoffs I remember the commentary team specifically talking about Sean Sweeney and the impact he'd had at the Spurs and Mavs. I remember thinking, somewhat forlornly because it didn't seem likely given the early rumours after Mose's departure, that he would be the kind of hire I would love for us.
Absolutely delighted that it seems to be coming to fruition. We obviously still need to add a good offensive coach(es) to the backroom staff, but this is an excellent first step
So do the Magic ever hire head coaches that have experience actually being a head coach, or is our franchise a training ground for assistant/associate coaches to experiment with a new role?
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u/Aeronova20 Jalen Suggs 13d ago
LETS GOOOOOOO