ORLANDO, Fla. — Even though it’s only the first day of 2025, it should already be clear to everyone who should be the NBA’s Coach of the Year.

If the Magic’s Jamahl Mosley doesn’t win the award then it will be the biggest sports robbery since the advent of the $14 Bud Light at professional sports venues.

Mosley finished as runner-up last season, rightfully getting beat out by Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault, but this year he should be considered the prohibitive favorite. Mosley and his coaching staff — despite the prolonged abdominal injuries to star players Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and the season-ending torn knee ligament by Sixth-Man-of-the-Year candidate Moe Wagner — have the Magic at 20-14 and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Most teams, without three of their top six players, would fade faster than this year’s crop of New Year’s resolutions. But Mosley’s Magic — no matter who’s on the floor — have become the antithesis of your typical NBA team that treats the regular season like an extended load-management seminar.

As Sirius XM NBA radio host Rob Perez tweeted the other day: “There’s always that one guy at the park who goes way too hard and treats random games of pickup like life or death. The Orlando Magic are five of these people for 48 straight minutes every night.”

Yes, the Magic are that guy; that hyper-competitive brute down at the YMCA courts at lunchtime; the one who’s all elbows, hard fouls and chaotic energy. He guards you too closely, sweats on you too profusely, boxes out too aggressively and even yells out defensive switches like he’s playing in the NBA Finals. And after the game, he slaps you on the back way too hard and congratulates you on a “good run.” You leave the court equally annoyed and impressed by his relentless hustle.

No matter who’s available Mosley has convinced his guys that they can play with anybody, anytime. The Magic are ranked third in the league in defense and are as relentless as a dog chasing a squirrel and as harassing as a telemarketer with a quota.

“We are enough and we have enough,” Mosley said the other day of his makeshift, short-handed lineup. “No matter who’s on the floor, we know how we’re going to defend. We know how we’re going to communicate. We know how we’re going to keep fighting. When you step on the floor and you play for the Orlando Magic, this is how you’re going to play. This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to be in the locker room supporting your brothers, you’re going to be on the court fighting for them and you’re going to scrap until that final horn goes off.”

That’s what Mosley said after the Magic’s last game in which his team rallied from 21 down in the second half to beat the Brooklyn Nets on Cole Anthony’s baseline floater with less than a second left.

The same Cole Anthony who was out of the rotation not that long ago because he was playing so badly. Many NBA players would have blamed the coach for their lack of playing time and a rift might have developed, but Anthony actually credited Mosley for benching him and said it was a wake-up call for him.

“Coach Mose came in from Day 1 and set a standard for this team,” Anthony says. “He’s done such a great job keeping everybody ready and keeping everybody motivated.”

The victory over the Nets on Sunday was a snapshot of what this team has become. The Magic were without three starters — Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs (who didn’t play in the second half) — and also missing two key contributors (Moe Wagner and Anthony Black). And yet they still were able to rally from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter — the third time in the last eight days they had to dig out of such a hole and the second time by more than 20 points.

And who was leading the way? None other than rookie Tristan da Silva, who was chosen four selections after the lottery with the 18th overall pick but has been forced into the starting lineup because of all the injuries. He had 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists. And then there was Goga Bitadze, who, after he was cut by the Pacers two years ago, thought his NBA career might be over — until the Magic picked him up off the scrap heap and resurrected his career. Against the Nets, Bitadze scored 19 points with 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

The Magic are beating good teams with a rotation of players that resembles a rock band missing its lead singer and lead guitarist. As a result, the tambourine player, percussionist and keyboardist have stepped up and are cranking out the hits. We can only imagine how good this team will be when Banchero and Franz Wagner return to the lineup

Mosley is not only one of the most astute tacticians in the league, he is a master motivator who has convinced his players that playing defense is not just a dreaded necessity. It is a great joy. You could say Mosley is the Tom Sawyer of basketball coaches. In Mark Twain’s classic novel, Sawyer is tasked with painting a fence — a chore he initially despises. However, instead of doing it begrudgingly, he cleverly makes it seem like an exclusive, enjoyable activity. By pretending that painting the fence is great fun, Sawyer convinces his friends to join him to help complete the dirty task.

Tom Sawyer provides a great lesson in the power of persuasion and perception.

So, too, does Jamahl Mosley, who hasn’t just painted the fence; he’s made his team believe it’s a masterpiece worth showcasing every single night.

In a league where star power and load management often dominate the headlines, Mosley’s Magic have rewritten the narrative.

They’re a team built on grit, heart and an unrelenting belief that every game matters.

That belief starts with Mosley himself.

If that’s not the definition of Coach of the Year, then maybe the award needs to be redefined.

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