John Gabriel is the Executive Advisor for the Orlando Magic of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. He is known for his time as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, who reached the NBA Playoffs 5 times during his tenure.

Career

Philadelphia 76ers

Gabriel started his coaching career with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

working as an assistant coach, the director of video scouting, and the scouting coordinator.

Orlando Magic

Gabriel was hired by the Magic in 1987 as the director of player personnel, director of scouting and assistant coach. Gabriel helped the Magic reach the NBA Playoffs two times as vice president of basketball operations, and as a player personnel coach from 1994–1996. He reached the NBA Finals in 1995, won the Eastern Conference Finals in 1995 and won the Atlantic Division in 1995, 1996 and 1999. With

Darrell Armstrong Darrell Eugene Armstrong (born June 22, 1968) is a former American professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant coach for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who won the cha ...

leading the team, the Magic compiled a 41–41 record but missed the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

in the 1999 season. Gabriel hired

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette Universit ...

as head coach of the Magic at the beginning of that season. Rivers won

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

honors. In 2000, Gabriel won the NBA and Sport Illustrated Executive of the Year Award. The following season, Gabriel pursued free agents Grant Hill,

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

and

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

. Ultimately, Hill and McGrady came to

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, while Duncan decided to stay with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. In addition, Gabriel drafted Mike Miller, who would later become Rookie of the Year. Gabriel was let go by the Magic in the middle of a franchise record 19-game losing streak during the

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. Events This was the last season for the original two-div ...

. Elected to the Magic Hall of Fame in 2022.

Portland Trail Blazers

Gabriel returned to basketball in the NBA as an executive and scout first for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

New York Knicks

In 2008, he became the director of scouting for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Personal life

Gabriel's great grandparent Francesco Gabriele immigrated to the United States from

Guardiagrele Guardiagrele (; Abruzzese: ; la, Guardia Graelis) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is in the foothills of the Maiella mountain at an elevation of around . Its population numbers ...

– Italy in the late 19th century. Gabriel revealed in 2012 that he had been suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. Gabriel is a 1978 graduate of Kutztown State Teachers College (now

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Highe ...

), where he played basketball. He was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball players Kutztown Golden Bears men's basketball players Orlando Magic assistant coaches Orlando Magic executives People with Parkinson's disease