The Orlando Magic are continuing their coaching search in relative quiet.
There are some rumors that interviews have begun as the Magic narrow down their list. There is reporting that Orlando has set a preference for coaches with experience to help them reach the next level.
The names are familiar by now:
Billy Donovan has long been considered the favorite to land the job -- even before the job was open. Tom Thibodeau has been sniffing around quality jobs all offseason, even if reporting suggests he has fallen by the wayside.
San Antonio Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney is the most prominent in the group without head coaching experience. He brings strong defensive and player-development chops.
Coaches like Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and former Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer should be in the mix. With Jason Kidd parting with the Dallas Mavericks, he must be thrown into the candidate pool, too.
One name caught everyone by surprise.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported Tuesday that the Orlando Magic had interest in LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy.
In the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, "That is a name I haven't heard in a very long time."
Van Gundy has not been the head coach of a team since 2007. He took an 18-year gap between being a head coach and joining Tyronn Lue's staff for the 2025 season. But he does have head coaching experience.
This does not appear to be a flash in the pan. Van Gundy is drawing interest from other teams too.
NBA on Prime insider Chris Haynes reports the Portland Trail Blazers are also interested in Van Gundy and have requested permission to interview him.
Portland Trail Blazers have requested permission to meet with Los Angeles Clippers assistant Jeff Van Gundy as he has emerged as one of the finalists for their head coach opening, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/nyRbNbyBYU
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 21, 2026
One is a token interview, two is some actual interest. And fans cannot ignore that Van Gundy is a real option for the Magic to add to the list.
Everyone must take Van Gundy's potential candidacy for a job somewhere seriously. The NBA certainly is.
Van Gundy has real experience and has made a difference
The news that Jeff Van Gundy was going to get an interview with the Orlando Magic was initially met with some skepticism and a few laughs.
After all, Van Gundy has not been a head coach since 2007 after a four-year tenure with the Houston Rockets. A lot has changed in the NBA since then -- the advancing of the 3-point shot being the least of them.
His last head coaching job was so long ago that Dwight Howard was still in his early years. His brother, Stan Van Gundy, had not provided any proof of concept that 3-point shooting could win in the Playoffs as a central strategy.
Still, there is no denying Jeff Van Gundy has plenty of experience in the lead chair.
He took over the New York Knicks for Pat Riley in 1995 and led the Knicks to the NBA Finals as an 8-seed in the lockout-shortened 1999 season (without Patrick Ewing, at that).
In 11 seasons as a head coach, he led the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets to nine playoff appearances. He won eight playoff series, all with the Knicks.
His teams always played tough defense -- as you would expect from a Riley disciple and from a Van Gundy, in general.
That is what Jeff Van Gundy has become known for in two years as the assistant coach with the LA Clippers. Van Gundy was credited with helping the Clippers improve from 16th in defensive rating in 2024 to third in 2025. They fell back to 18th in their injury-filled season this year.
Van Gundy is probably most known to fans more recently for his work in the broadcast booth for ESPN.
Van Gundy returned to coaching radars because of that work with the Clippers. He got that job by returning to the lead chair to lead the G-Leaguers, who made up the U.S.'s World Cup Qualifying team for the 2019 World Cup. He served on the staff for that World Cup team, too.
That at least suggests he has some player development chops with more recent players. Still, it has been a long time since he was in the lead chair.
He has a lot of the things the Magic surely want in their next coach.
The Magic are clearly exploring everything, but decisions are narrowing
The Orlando Magic's coaching search has continued mostly in quiet.
Nobody really knows who the frontrunner is and who the Magic have even interviewed at this point. It still feels like it is a collection of names and speculation.
Jeff Van Gundy is only the latest to jump into that fray. The Magic surely will do their homework on the recently fired Jason Kidd too.
There are not many available jobs in the NBA, with just four openings -- the Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Chicago Bulls. The competition to hire a coach is starting to heat up as teams get serious about their Draft search.
It is time to finish the search sooner than later.
That Van Gundy is also interviewing with the Blazers not only means that he is serious about becoming a head coach again, but also means that the Magic have competition for whomever they are trying to hire.
At a certain point, Orlando needs to pick its guy and get him under contract quickly. The other teams are starting to pin down who they want to lead them.
The Magic are still doing their process. They should be one of the most attractive jobs on the market. It is just about finding the right person.
The search is clearly ongoing.
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