Orlando Magic Hires Former Player Scott Skiles as its Next Coach

The Orlando Magic has hired former player and fan favorite Scott Skiles as its next coach, general manager Rob Hennigan said Friday.

Hennigan said, "Scott brings a great skill set to our organization ... I can go on and on [about] his ability to teach, to inspire is something Scott excels at and is what our team needs at this point. We found our guy. We found the right guy, and we're enthusiastic about it. And we'll leave it at that."

Hennigan did not say anything about whether or not the Magic was interested in hiring Tom Thibodeau, the former coach of the Chicago Bulls. Thibodeau was fired on Thursday.

Skiles, 51 has coached for the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. His overall record is 443-433. His best season was in 2000-01 when he led the Suns to a 51-31 record.

"They made it clear to me that this was Rob's call," Skiles said in regards to getting hired. "I'm here because I was a basketball coach and not just because I played for the Magic. That was important to me."

CEO Alex Martins said, "As we began our search, our internal discussions centered on finding a head coach with a solid résumé of NBA head coaching experience, great leadership qualities, a motivating communication style, and someone with a strong strategic acumen. We feel Scott [Skiles] brings a balanced approach in all those qualities and we look forward, with great confidence, to him leading our young men in helping us reach our collective goal of sustainable success."

Skiles played for the Magic for five seasons. He was a part of the franchise's inaugural team in 1989-90.