Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney was officially named Orlando‘s next head coach, the 16th in franchise history, the Magic announced Monday morning.
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The formal announcement came three days after it was first revealed last Friday that Orlando was finalizing an agreement to hire Sweeney, who’s in his first season as associate head coach for San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson.
“We’re excited to welcome Sean to the Orlando Magic family,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “Sean brings a tremendous work ethic and a high degree of intensity that set the tone for everything he does. Sean’s attention to detail and his ability to communicate and teach the game clearly stands out.
“He’s grounded in competitiveness and accountability, while also embracing a modern, creative approach to coaching,” Weltman added.
Sweeney, 41, will continue with the Spurs through the NBA Finals, the Magic said. San Antonio has homecourt advantage when it takes on the New York Knicks in the Finals, which start Wednesday night on ABC.
He agreed to a four-year deal with the Magic that includes an additional one-year team option, a league source confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel. Sports Illustrated first reported the length of Sweeney’s contract.
Weltman dismissed Jamahl Mosley on May 4, one day after the Magic were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs for a third consecutive season. In the best-of-seven series it once led 3-1 over No. 1 Detroit, eighth-seeded Orlando lost its second Game 7 in the past three trips to the postseason.
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The search to hire Sweeney officially lasted 28 days, the shortest amount of time needed for the three coaches Weltman has hired while overseeing all aspects of the team’s basketball operations department since his 2017 arrival.
When he hired Mosley in July 2021, the choice came 36 days after the franchise agreed to mutually part ways with Steve Clifford. Weltman’s first coaching change with Orlando was his firing of Frank Vogel in 2018 and hiring of Clifford, which took 48 days.
This go-round, candidates for the job included Billy Donovan and Jeff Van Gundy, but Sweeney stood out because his experience as a standout assistant the past decade in the league.
Sweeney, a native of St. Paul, Minn., previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach in Dallas (2021-25), three as an assistant in Detroit (2018-21) and four as an assistant in Milwaukee (2014-18). He began his time in the NBA as a video coordinator with the then-New Jersey Nets in 2011 and later served as an assistant in Brooklyn for one season (2013-14).
With their coaching search complete, the Magic will shift their focus to this month’s NBA draft and the rest of an important offseason as Sweeney aims to help San Antonio capture a championship before departing for Orlando.
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Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]