New Magic coach Sean Sweeney is beginning to piece together his first coaching staff in Orlando.
Sweeney will be adding DJ Bakker, Mfon Udofia and Riley Crean as assistant coaches for the Magic, a league source confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday night.
There are more additions to be made as Sweeney starts the process of filling out his staff that will help him as a first-time NBA head coach. Most coaching staffs around the league feature anywhere from 6-11 assistant coaches.
HoopsHype’s Mike Scotto first reported the three initial assistant hires made by Sweeney.
Bakker, 43, is an assistant coach for the Hornets and serves as the head coach of Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. He and Sweeney crossed paths when they both worked for the Pistons from 2018-21 under past coach Dwane Casey.
Among other stops made throughout his NBA career that he began in 2009-10 as a video coordinator for the Bulls, Bakker was once an advance regional scout for the Magic for the 2013-14 season under past coach Jacque Vaughn.
Similar to Bakker, Udofia is also a G League head coach for an Eastern Conference organization. Udofia, 35, has spent the last three years as head coach of the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.
He previously served as an assistant coach for G League clubs: the Ontario Clippers (2022-23), the Capital City Go-Go (2021-22), the College Park Skyhawks (2019-21) and the Erie BayHawks (2018-19). Udofia began his coaching career with the Delaware 87ers, spending one season (2016-17) as a player development/video associate before being promoted to an assistant coach for the 2017-18 season.
He also brings some international coaching experience with him to Sweeney’s staff after serving as the head coach of the Nigerian National Team during FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers and an assistant coach for Nigeria at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
The youngest of the bunch is Crean, who’s the son of long-time college coach Tom Crean.
Riley Crean, 27, served as the head video coordinator for the Mavericks this past season and spent three out of four years working in Dallas alongside Sweeney under former coach Jason Kidd (2022-25). Sweeney departed for San Antonio ahead of the 2025-26 campaign that saw the Spurs reach the NBA Finals.
Crean attended the University of Georgia and worked as a student manager for his father who coached the men’s basketball team from 2018-22 in the SEC.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
