Sweeney was hired by the Spurs in June 2025 and is credited with their huge defensive turnaround leading up to a deep playoffs run.
SAN ANTONIO — NBA fans know all about the Gregg Popovich “coaching tree,” referring to the various assistance coaches who have gone on to bigger roles beyond San Antonio, buoyed in part by the team’s success with Coach Pop at the helm.
Now it appears the Mitch Johnson coaching tree may have its first branch in the aftermath of a 62-win regular season and amid the team’s deep playoff run.
According to a report from NBA insider Shams Charania, the Orlando Magic are set to hire Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney to serve as their franchise’s next head coach. Charania reported that Sweeney will continue in his current role for the rest of San Antonio’s postseason
The Magic job will be Sweeney’s first time in an NBA head coaching role, having spent the last 15 years in roles with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks and Spurs.
Sweeney, 41, has served as the de factor defensive coordinator for the Spurs this season, and members of the team have credited him with leading the Silver & Black’s defensive turnaround. San Antonio was 25th in the league in defensive rating for the team’s 34-48 campaign in 2024-2025 and jumped to third this season, behind only the Pistons and defending champion Thunder.
He was hired in June 2025, having been credited with helping to morph Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo into the two-way superstar he is now.
“The more we talked, it just felt like a good fit,” Johnson has said this season. “We had a smaller staff (last year), we had a really unique set of circumstances, obviously. I think to be able to add to that group was very beneficial. Sean’s been a big part of that.”
Only the NBA Finals-bound New York Knicks have had a better defensive rating than the Spurs this postseason.
Asked after Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against a Minnesota – a victory in which the Spurs held the Timberwolves to 97 points – about how much credit Sweeney should get for the team’s defensive prowess, Victor Wembanyama’s answer was simple.
“All of it,” the NBA Defensive Player of the Year said.
Sweeney’s name had been floated as a candidate for multiple NBA teams with head coaching vacancies this postseason, including the Bulls, Pelicans and Trail Blazers. De’Aaron Fox has said he wouldn’t be surprised if a team gave Sweeney a shot.
“I definitely think he has that, I wouldn’t say potential, I think he could do it now,” Fox said. “I think, down the line, we’ll definitely see him be a head coach.”
The Orlando Magic underwhelmed this season, finishing with a 45-37 record in a year when their preseason over/under for wins was set at 51.5. They squeaked into the playoff, where they took the No. 1 seed Pistons to seven games in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs before blowing a 3-1 series lead.
Head coach Jamahl Mosley was fired after their playoffs exit, having been in Orlando since 2021.