Orlando Magic continue to solidify foundation with Jamahl Mosley extension

Jamahl Mosley is still a bit different as a head coach.

It could be his willingness to jump into a drill, working up a deep sweat playing the defender for Paolo Banchero, bringing the energy and size that few coaches can.

Mosley is still a player at heart and you cannot keep a player off the court. He was an energy player in his playing days at that -- the kind of player that would have fit in well on the Heart and Hustle team. He has always said as long as his body will let him, he will jump in and get to work with his players.

That is the assistant coach in him too.

He spent much of his previous coaching career as a development coach. He made his name in the league as someone who could relate and reach players on a personal level. That part of his approach certainly has not changed.

It will never change That hands-on approach is what has helped establish a culture and a foundation for a team on the cusp of a long playoff run.

The Magic worked Tuesday to solidify that part of their foundation as they embark on this new world. Orlando agreed to an extension with Mosley, keeping him as the team's head coach through the 2028 season.

"Jamahl and his staff have done a tremendous job not only this season, but since we hired him back in 2021," Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a press release. "His preparation, work ethic, ability to connect with the players, and passion he brings to the job every day brings positive results, both on the court and off. We are very happy to have Jamahl lead the Magic for years to come."

This is still a results-based business. And all that sweat and personal equity is all toward that one goal. And Mosley has begun to maximize the roster and their development.

Orlando knew it was going to be rebuilding and struggling when they hired him three years ago. But the Magic have gone from 22 wins in Mosley's first season in 2022 to 34 wins last year (the last team eliminated from postseason contention too). This year Orlando has already surpassed that 34-win mark.

They find themselves not only competing to make the Playoffs but also competing for homecourt advantage in the first round.

In his third season as the Orlando Magic's head coach, Mosley has built one of the best defensive teams in the league -- currently ranked fifth in the league -- and has brought the team to the doorstep of the playoffs. For the first time in a decade, the Magic are sitting in a playoff position entering the final quarter of the season and can at least make tentative plans for postseason basketball.

Mosley's guidance and patience are part of the foundation of this Magic rebuild that has so many in Orlando so excited and the rest of the league put on notice. Orlando can only further solidify that foundation as they enter the playoffs and the next phase of their development.

He still has a lot to learn. The Playoffs will be a new challenge for him as much as it will be for the player.s But his growth is part of the team's growth. Everyone is improving in tandem.

Mosley's job has been to have the team prepared. And no one questions his work ethic and preparation there.

But as exciting as the playoff race has been, Mosley's greatest strength is still about the bigger picture. He is still building the team the Magic are going to be as much as he is coaching the team they are now.

Even with wins starting to pile in and become more important, Mosley has always been about helping his team grow and learn to be ready for this moment and well beyond.

As Moe Wagner has put it, this team's success is not built on their work this year but the work they have built over the last three seasons. Everyone feels ownership over this team's success from years of working together. They have fully embraced this journey and bought into what the coaches are building.

Mosley's coaching is as much a foundation for the team and its culture as the star players the Magic have collected and how those pieces have begun to fit together.

Everyone has embraced the culture Mosley has built as much as they have built it. You can see it in everything they do. And the way they approach each other.

Nothing connects to his team more than when he rose up for a dunk while they were in Mexico City, sending everyone into hysterics and celebration -- he did it again to much less fanfare last week, proving he still has it beyond drill work.

That love is genuine. The work the team puts in with their coach -- it is certainly not for him because Mosley has built a partnership with the team he has built from the ground floor up -- is starting to pay off and that has only deepened the team's trust.

There is still work to do. There is another evolution the team has to make.

They are experiencing winning for the first time and the Magic are focused on their work and embracing the experience as much as they are trying to do anything else.

Like the previous two seasons, the Magic know that their success is just a step on the journey for this team. They know there is something greater to keep building toward.

Orlando has been working to build its foundation during the last three seasons. This is the first season where it all seemed to come together for them. And there is still so much for them to build.

To do that, the Magic need a strong foundation and culture. The kind of foundation and culture Mosley has helped build.

Mosley has long had the Magic going on the right track. But just like he defers all of his success to his players and his assistant coaches, he knows that success is about the work. And there is still a lot of work to do.

So he will be back on the floor going through drills and coaching his players. He will be back on the sideline giving instruction and a guiding hand to a young team trying to find their way. He is going to have his team ready to play.

Orlando will be working on its next evolution after this playoff season. Having someone who has established this culture and built the relationships to improve and grow this team is an advantage.

Mosley has established the foundation for that growth and success.