The Orlando Magic locked down the franchise’s 16th head coach, who is set to be San Antonio Spurs associate head coach, Sean Sweeney. 

The hire ends weeks of speculation surrounding Orlando’s coaching search, which included reported interest in coaches Billy Donovan and Jeff Van Gundy. While those established names generated attention, Sweeney quickly emerged as one of the most intriguing candidates on the market due to his reputation as a rising coach. 

Sweeney, who is currently serving as the associate head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, is heading to the NBA Finals after the Spurs took down the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. 

Despite being a first-time head coach, Sweeney has already earned significant respect around the NBA. The Orlando Magic's social media accounts recently highlighted that reputation, sharing praise and endorsements from several respected voices around the league who have worked with or observed Sweeney throughout his coaching career. 

"What I think he does really, really well is he teaches the game.... he does a really good job of setting a game plan and having grounded principles."

"I took a liking to his ability to articulate his basketball philosophy and what he thought in terms of competitiveness and how hard you should coach and holding guys accountable. But also the modern, creative part and thinking outside the box."

“We are so tight and he always speaks the truth to me and i always speak the truth to him... he wants to win”

Don Strouble took to the Full Court Magic Podcast following the news to discuss what he brings to the team. 

"So far from what I've seen on social media, there is a pretty decent amount of excitement for him," Strouble said. "There was excitement surrounding his name when it entered the fold. For the longest time, even before Mosley lost his job, Billy Donovan was the first name I was hearing and a lot of you were hearing as well, and that really picked up steam and seemed to be a favorite. I know Marc Stein reported on it, but then Sweeney just picked up so much momentum for this job. That meeting with him during these Western Conference Finals between him and the Magic brass must have just gone really, really well—better than the meetings did with Billy Donovan or Jeff Van Gundy. It's going to be interesting to see where he takes this team, obviously with this core. I'd be remiss to not add Desmond Bane—excuse me for not adding that—adding his name in there, who is such a key player for the Magic. How will Sweeney help elevate this group of players to get them to the next level? We'll have to see in due time."

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