Former Michigan basketball coach John Beilein is heading back to the NBA in a part-time capacity. Beilein, who turned the Wolverines from a middle-of-the-pack program to one on the premier programs in the country, will join the Orlando Magic as a consultant, the 73-year-old announced on social media on Monday, August 17. "I'm excited to be assisting Sean Sweeney and the Orlando Magic as a senior coaching consultant this upcoming NBA season," Beilein's post began. "Sean has a brilliant future as an NBA head coach and I'm honored he asked me to serve him and the Magic in this capacity.
"I look forward to supporting the coaching staff and contributing in any way I can to the organization's continued growth and success." Beilein, who was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022, was recently named one of eight former Wolverines who will be inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor next month. He's also set to be inducted into the West Virginia Hall of Fame. MORE MICHIGAN: Dusty May left Michigan for NBA after Big Ten meeting shined a light Beilein spent a dozen years (2007-19) in Ann Arbor and during his time transformed a program that had fallen by the wayside into a perennial power. Michigan had gone nearly a decade without an NCAA Tournament berth when he arrived, then over the next 12 years, Beilein led the program to the NCAA Tournament nine times, which included two trips to the Final Four and national championship games (2013, 2018). He left U-M in 2019 for the NBA when he became coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for one season before he resigned in February 2020 after going 14-40 overall. Later, he joined the Pistons as a senior advisor from 2021-23, where Sweeney and Beilein first crossed paths. Sweeney, 42, is now in his first year as head coach in the NBA after working in the league since 2011.
pic.twitter.com/9dhU75Tl6B — John Beilein (@JohnBeilein) August 17, 2026 Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball legend John Beilein to work with Orlando Magic