5 potential replacements for Steve Clifford as Magic head coach

2. Penny Hardaway

A lot of former NBA stars come up a head coaching candidates for their old teams sooner or later, but Penny Hardaway has spent the last few years gaining experience as a college head coach, and so far, he’s done a bang-up job.

While he’s no John Calipari, Hardaway has coached his alma mater Memphis Tigers to a 63-32 record over the last three years, winning the NIT in 2021. Dating back to 2011, he’s already coached his middle school alma mater to a state title, coached East High School (also in Memphis) for a few years and then made the jump to the Tigers at the collegiate level in 2018. If Hardaway has enjoyed coaching at every level, especially when it comes to his alma maters, why not complete the journey by returning to his second home in Orlando?

Even if Hardaway proved to be unprepared for the NBA level, he’d be one of the few head coaching hires that wouldn’t draw criticism if he failed. Magic fans love Penny Hardaway, and rightfully so, given his four All-Star appearances and three All-NBA selections with the team back in the ’90s, when he and Shaquille O’Neal led Orlando to the 1995 NBA Finals.

The Magic lost that series and injuries destroyed Penny’s career, but this would be a welcome homecoming for a guy who’s been getting head coaching experience at every level and may be ready for a jump to the NBA.