The Orlando Magic fired head coach Jamahl Mosley on Monday, May 4, less than 24 hours after the Detroit Pistons ended their season in the 2026 NBA playoffs.
The Magic announced they are moving on from Mosley, who is very good friends with Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, after losing 116-94 on Sunday to the Pistons in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round series at Little Caesars Arena.
The Magic won three of the first four games in the series to put the Pistons on the brink of elimination, but Detroit won the final three games to pick up its first playoff series victory in 18 years. The Magic are the 15th team to blow a 3-1 series lead in the NBA playoffs.
After splitting the first two games in Detroit, the Magic protected homecourt by winning Games 3 and 4 to put themselves a win away from the second round. The Pistons maintained a narrow lead from start to finish in Game 5 to keep their season alive, behind a franchise playoff record 45-point performance from Cade Cunningham.
The Magic rebounded with a dominant second quarter in Game 6, taking a 22-point lead into the locker room. But the Pistons buckled down on defense, holding the Magic to 19 points on 10.8% shooting in the second half to pull off an improbable comeback.
The Game 6 recovery seemingly sank Orlando’s ship. Two days later, back in Detroit, the Pistons handily beat the Magic by 22, with 32 points and 12 assists from Cunningham and 30 points from veteran leader Tobias Harris.
Mosley coached the Magic for five seasons, finishing with a 189-221 record. Mosley helped lead the Magic rebuild and turnaround with plenty of high draft picks, including Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. The Magic made the playoffs the past three seasons under Mosley, but failed to advance past the first round. The Magic have not won a playoff series since 2010.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman will reportedly lead the Magic’s coach search.
By winning their first playoff series since 2008, the Pistons kept their 60-win season alive. Detroit faces the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, which begins Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena.
Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Orlando Magic fire coach Jamahl Mosley after Pistons end their season
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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