The Jamahl Mosley Coach of the Year campaign is gaining preseason traction. This is equal parts expected, pretty cool, well-deserved…and a sign of how hot his seat will get if it’s not accurate.
ESPN asked a panel of its NBA insiders to fill out early ballots for every major award. The Orlando Magic head honcho didn’t just squeak out a victory in the Coach of the Year category. He won it running away. Here are the full results:
- Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic (48 points)
- Quin Snyder, Atlanta Hawks (24 points)
- Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets (22 points)
- Mike Brown, New York Knicks (21 points)
- Mitch Johnson, San Antonio Spurs (16 points)
This list typifies the vast majority of CoY discussions. Heads of the bench guiding significantly beefed-up rosters or new faces taking over good teams always seem to monopolize the consideration.
That is great news for Mosely, who falls into the first bucket, and who’s also no stranger to this conversation. He finished second on the CoY ballot for the 2023-24 campaign, in what was a nod to the hellacious defense he’s helped install since taking Orlando’s reins.
Now, the stakes are higher. After adding a high-impact player like Desmond Bane and signing Tyus Jones, the Magic are positioned to contend for the Eastern Conference throne—and all the attention that comes with it.
The stage is set for Mosely and the Magic to surge up the standings
Kiss Orlando’s happy-to-be-here phase goodbye. You don’t surrender the rights to five first-round picks (four outright, one swap) if you’re not all-in on contending for a title.
Bane specifically adds a floor-spacing and movement dynamic to the offense that could help Orlando place in the top 10 of efficiency for the first time in approximately forever. He gives the Magic yet another off-the-dribble weapon and secondary table-setter, and is someone who will alleviate pressure and open up room for Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs. Banes does this all without compromising one of the league’s most terrifying defenses.
Bracing for this kind of improvement lays the groundwork for Mosley’s Coach of the Year case. Last season’s injury-plagued baseline helps, too. The Magic will win a boatload more games, and could feasibly climb as high as first or second in the Eastern Conference.
People notice and appreciate these seismic spikes—particularly when they come amid the continued development of young players, and while navigating certain challenges like a top-heavy rotation, or a travel-heavy schedule.
Mosley will feel the wrath of Orlando struggles
Of course, atmospherically high expectations also mean the Magic have further to fall. And no matter how rosy things look now, they can always go wrong.
Injuries could infest the roster yet again. The offense could fail to inject enough pace and variability. Franz Wagner could once again land on the wrong side of #JumpShotWatch. Jalen Suggs’ offensive performance could look closer to last year than it did to 2023-24. The Magic could pull a terrible playoff matchup, and bow out in the first round.
Eighty-two games plus the postseason is a lot. Plenty could change between now and then, for both better and worse.
If the Magic fail to meet the high bar they and everyone else has set for them, Moseley will be the head that rolls—not necessarily because he’s responsible, but because after unloading a bunch of assets and reinvesting in key players, Orlando is officially at the point in which switching up the coach has become the easiest, if only, change to make.