The Orlando Magic have named Scott Skiles head coach, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. Skiles becomes the 12th head coach in franchise history. “Scott (Skiles) clearly distinguished himself as a tremendous fit,” said Hennigan. “Our young roster will benefit greatly from Scott’s extensive head coaching experience and commitment to teaching smart, physical, unselfish basketball. We believe in Scott’s ability to establish a culture of winning habits and accountability that will help guide our team in a positive direction.”
Skiles previously coached the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. He compiled a 443-433 record, including six playoff appearances in parts of 13 seasons.
Former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy said prior to the move that Skiles would be a great fit in Orlando due to his penchant for turning around struggling franchises, per Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel:
I love him. Scott Skiles to me is one of the most underrated coaches in the NBA. People always talk about how he wears his teams out, but I’ve never believed that. Great players embrace coaching. When Scott was in Phoenix, he turned them around quickly. When he was in Chicago, he took over a team that had been down for a long, long period of time and he turned it and he turned it quickly.