Orlando Magic Head Coach History: Years Coached, Records, Playoff Wins & More

Head coaches are a big part of NBA success. Hiring the right coach can often make the difference between building a good foundation, successfully developing young players, and winning and running your franchise into the ground. 

Especially with young teams, such as this current Orlando Magic squad, it is important to find a coach who can guide his players on the right path. So far, Jamahl Mosley looks like a great choice for that job, but he is not the only successful Magic coach. So, let's take a look at all the coaches that came before him. 

List of Orlando Magic head coaches

Coach 1: Matt Guokas 

Years coached: 1989-1993
Regular season record: 111-217
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experience: Matt Guokas was the Magic's first head coach and did not see much winning during his tenure. That is not unusual for a new franchise. Guokas found success in other stretches of his career, winning a championship as a player in 1967 and as an assistant coach in 1983. 

Coach 2: Brian Hill 

Years coached: 1993-1997
Regular season record: 191-104
Playoff games coached: 36
Playoff wins: 18 
Notable achievements and experience: Brian Hill, who had been an assistant coach under Matt Guokas, led the Orland Magic to their first trip to the NBA Finals in 1995. That season, he was also an NBA All-Star head coach. Nevertheless, he was fired in 1997, halfway through the season. 

Coach 3: Richie Adubato

Years coached: 1997
Regular season record: 21-12
Playoff games coached: 5
Playoff wins: 2
Notable achievements and experiences: Richie Adubato became the Magic's head coach for the remainder of the season once Brian Hill was fired in 1997. He managed to lead the team to a winning record in the 33 regular season games he coached but did not stick around. Instead, he went to the WNBA and coached the New York Liberty to several finals appearances. 

Coach 4: Chuck Daly

Years coached: 1997-1999
Regular season record: 74-58
Playoff games coached: 4
Playoff wins: 1
Notable achievements and experiences: Chuck Daly came to Orlando as an incredibly decorated coach. He won two titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990 and coached the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics. With the Magic, he did not have quite as much success, but he coached the last game of his career with the team. He is the only Magic coach, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame so far. 

Coach 5: Doc Rivers

Years coached: 1999-2003
Regular season record: 171-168
Playoff games coached: 15
Playoff wins: 5
Notable achievements and experiences: Doc Rivers started his tenure with the Magic off well, coaching the team to exceed expectations and winning Coach of the Year. After that, he led the Magic to several winning seasons, but they never moved past the first round of the playoffs under his leadership. 

Coach 6: Johnny Davis

Years coached: 2003-2005
Regular season record: 51-84
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: After playing in the NBA from 1976-1986, Johnny Davis started a long coaching career. While he coached for over 20 years, his biggest success came as a player when he won a title in 1977. 

Coach 7: Chris Jent

Years coached: 2005
Regular season record: 5-13
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: The only time Chris Jent ever acted as an NBA head coach was when the Magic made him interim head coach for the remainder of the 2004-05 season. After that, he went back to being an assistant coach for several NBA teams and won the NBA Cup with the Lakers in 2023. 

Coach 8: Brian Hill

Years coached: 2005-2007
Regular season record: 76-88
Playoff games coached: 4
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: Brian Hill's second stint with the Magic was not quite as successful as his first, as the team never moved past the first round of the playoffs

Coach 9: Stan Van Gundy 

Years coached: 2007-2012
Regular season record: 259-135
Playoff games coached: 59
Playoff wins: 31
Notable achievements and experiences: Stan Van Gundy quickly found success with the Magic. In his first season as the team's head coach, he secured the Magic's first division championship since 1996 and led the team to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. A season later, Van Gundy led the Magic back to the NBA Finals. In 2010, he was selected to coach the Eastern Conference All-Star team. 

Coach 10: Jacque Vaughn

Years coached: 2012-2015
Regular season record: 58-158
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: After playing in the NBA from 1997 to 2009 and being an assistant coach for the Spurs, Jacque Vaughn got his first head coaching job with the Magic. Even though his coaching career has not seen much success yet, he already has an NBA championship on his resume, as he won it as a player in 2007. 

Coach 11: James Borrego

Years coached: 2015
Regular season record: 10-20
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: James Borrego was the Magic's head coach for only a short time. He took over as the interim coach when Jacque Vaughn was fired and debuted with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Coach 12: Scott Skiles 

Years coached: 2015-16
Regular season record: 35-47
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: Scott Skiles played for the Magic from 1989 to 1994, winning the Most Improved Player award. His coaching stint with the Magic was not quite as successful, as the team missed the playoffs. 

Coach 13: Frank Vogel 

Years coached: 2016-2018
Regular season record: 54-110
Playoff games coached: 0
Playoff wins: 0
Notable achievements and experiences: When Frank Vogel came to the Magic in 2016, he inherited a struggling team and missed the playoffs twice. He was fired after the 2017-28 season, which led him to the Lakers and his first championship as a coach. 

Coach 14: Steve Clifford

Years coached: 2018-2021
Regular season record: 96-131
Playoff games coached: 10
Playoff wins: 2
Notable achievement and experiences: Despite initial struggles, Steve Clifford finally broke the Magic's playoff drought. He led the team to two playoff appearances that ended in the first round. 

The current head coach 

Introduction to the current coach 

Name: Jamahl Mosley
Years coached: 2021-present
Current regular season record: 103-143
Playoff games coached: 7
Playoff wins: 3
Coaching Style and philosophy: Jamahl Mosley is a coach who values defense and hard work. Before coming to Orlando, he was the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Mavericks. Unsurprisingly, he quickly turned his young Magic squad into an excellent defensive team. Last season, after leading the Magic to the playoffs, he finished second in Coach of the Year voting. In 2024-25, he should be one of the top candidates once again, especially if the Magic continue to rise through the Eastern Conference standings. 

Future outlook under Jamahl Mosley 

The Magic's future is bright. From here on out, they should only be going up. Coach Mosley helped build the foundation for that, and now he has to iron out some lingering issues. His biggest challenge will be improving the Magic's offensive output with the personnel available.