The Osceola Magic are about to open a new season with a new voice on the sideline, but the expectations around the team haven’t changed much at all.
On Sunday at 3 p.m. inside Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park, Osceola begins its G League campaign at home against the Oklahoma City Blue, with Ronnie Burrell taking over as head coach and trying to keep the franchise’s recent run rolling. The Magic’s affiliate has built a strong track record over the last three seasons, going 93-57 while reaching the Eastern Conference finals three straight times and making the 2025 G League Finals.
Burrell steps into the job after Dylan Murphy left in August to join Mike Boynton Jr.’s staff at the University of Michigan as an assistant coach. And from the start, Burrell has made it clear what kind of identity he wants this group to have.
“We have an emphasis on defending, but we have a lot of offensive talent,” he said recently. “We are putting in a style of play that is based on unselfishness on the offensive end and that’s based on grit on the defensive end. We are going to try to do it all.”
That approach is exactly why Osceola general manager Kevin Tiller was comfortable making the move. Burrell arrives with a résumé that stretches across the NBA and overseas, including 11 years as a professional player in Europe.
He spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers and the year before that with the Brooklyn Nets. In 2023, he was named G League Coach of the Year after leading the Long Island Nets to a 23-9 record and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“Ronnie has an enormous amount of experience,” Tiller said. “He played.
He also has worked in the NBA in multiple stops. He’s been successful.
So for us, he brings a different approach. He’s very defensive-minded.
He holds guys accountable. We feel like he also has a lot of upside, not only for us, but maybe Orlando in the future.”
Burrell’s first Osceola roster comes with plenty of familiar names and plenty of movement between the G League and Orlando. The group includes guards JD Davison, Malaki Branham and Ace Baldwin Jr., plus forward Ricky Council IV. Orlando’s two-way players - Alex Morales, Colin Castleton and rookie Izaiyah Nelson - will also move back and forth.
Nelson, who the Magic drafted in the second round out of the University of South Florida, is still rehabbing a fracture in his left ankle that he suffered at Las Vegas Summer League in July.
One player who was in Orlando’s training camp but won’t be part of Osceola’s roster is Kevin Knox II. The 2018 NBA lottery pick recently signed a rest-of-season contract with Unicaja Malaga, according to the European club that competes in Liga ACB, Spain’s top domestic league.
Even with that change, Burrell is stepping into a situation he believes is built for success.
“There’s a tradition of winning here,” Burrell said. “There’s also a tradition in development. So, our priority is to help these guys get better and win in conjunction with that.
“My belief is, when you put a group of players on the floor that are well-rounded, that have high-character, those are winning teams. We’ll continue that.”
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