Desmond Bane is already seeing the kind of approach Sean Sweeney plans to bring to Orlando.
The Magic guard said in a recent interview with Baker Machado of Front Office Sports that Sweeney made a trip to Texas during the offseason to spend time at his home, where Bane said several Magic teammates have been training and hanging out together. For Bane, that visit said plenty about what Orlando’s new head coach is trying to build before the 2026-27 season even tips off.
“Super excited. He was just here at my house here in Texas.
I got a couple of my teammates down here, training with me, hanging out. So, I think little things like him coming all the way out here shows his commitment, his care factor, how much he is willing to put into this thing.
It is not only coaching, but it is building relationships and helping us get to where he was just at. He was just in the Finals so he has that experience, he has that credibility when he’s speaking to us.
I am super excited. I think he is going to help us in a major way.”
Sweeney arrives with fresh Finals experience from last season with the San Antonio Spurs, who went all the way to the championship round before falling to the New York Knicks in five games.
That background matters in Orlando, where the bar is set on a deeper playoff run. The Magic went 45-37 last season, grabbed the No. 8 seed and then pushed the Detroit Pistons to the brink with a 3-1 series lead before dropping the final three games. It was Orlando’s third straight first-round playoff exit.
Now Sweeney inherits a group built around Bane, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, with the expectation that the next step has to come in the postseason.
For Bane, the work has already started well before training camp. Sweeney’s Texas visit gave him a chance to connect with players in person and reinforce the buy-in Orlando will need if it wants to turn last season’s disappointment into something bigger.
The Magic will open the 2026-27 season against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
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Desmond Bane Just Raised Expectations For This Magic Core
Desmond Bane has already helped raise the temperature around Orlando before playing a regular-season game for the Magic. The veteran guard said the group has the talent to contend in the Eastern Conference in 2026-27, pointing to the rosters buy-in to new head coach Sean Sweeneys system as a sign that this is more than just a hopeful offseason talking point. Orlandos recent baseline gives that belief some shape, too, after a 45-37 finish and a first-round playoff trip last season.
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The back end of the roster may be just as crowded. Restricted free agent Jalen Black is still part of the conversation, and Jevon Carters return adds another guard to a group that already has several players vying for minutes. For 2025 draft pick Jase Richardson, that can only make the path to playing time tighter, which gives Orlando a real early test in figuring out how much youth it can realistically fit around its more established options. [Read more 🡒]