NATE TIBBETTS HAS ORLANDO ROOTS WITH PHOENIX EDGE

It looks like the Orlando Magic have picked a side in the WNBA Finals — and surprise, they’re riding with their old coach Nate Tibbetts.

Nate Tibbetts isn’t just “some coach who left.” He’s the ex that still gets invited to Thanksgiving, and your family always brags about. And boy does it seem like the Magic miss Tibbetts.

The Mercury head coach dipped out of Orlando during training camp before the 2023-24 season, but the Magic didn’t ghost him.

They’ve been following him like proud exes ever since: checking scores, watching highlights, and now flexing hard as the Phoenix Mercury the WNBA Finals.

Orlando’s group chat probably looked like a TikTok comment section: fire emojis and “HE COOKED.

Wendell Carter Jr. runs  Tibbetts Stan Account

Current Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter didn’t just tip his cap. He rolled out a red carpet.

When asked, Wendell Carter basically turned into a Hallmark card.

“NATE DOG IS A TREASURE, MAN… YOU CAN TELL WHEN YOU WATCH THE PHOENIX MERCURY THAT EVERYBODY PLAYS CAREFREE ON THAT TEAM. THEY PLAY FREE TO THEIR STRENGTHS, AND THEY LOCK UP ON THE DEFENSIVE END.”

That’s not media-speak. That’s poetry. That’s not a quote. That’s a love letter.

You could drop it in a wedding toast and nobody would blink.

Carter even doubled down, and went full Yelp reviewer mode and called Tibbetts’ system “beautiful,” “amazing,” and straight-up wishing him a ring. Forget game tape — the Mercury just got blessed by a 6’10” stamp of approval.

When your starting center is pushing your résumé harder than your agent?

That’s impact that goes beyond a box score.

The Magic Are Beaming Like Proud Cousins at Graduation

Meanwhile, Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley admitted he called Tibbetts mid-week just to say “proud of you.”

Coaches text. Players cheer.

Phones light up like it’s a group chat that refuses to mute.

Mosley couldn’t stop gushing either:

“HE HAS DONE SUCH A PHENOMENAL JOB… THE WOMEN ALL TALK ABOUT THE JOY THAT HE BRINGS TO THE GAME. I LOVE HOW THEY DEFEND. AND THEY DON’T QUIT.”

That line hits because Tibbetts has basically turned the Mercury into the Magic, but with a turbo button.

Phoenix has a top-five defense in the regular season, and in the playoffs they cranked it up like a bass drop: eight points stingier per 100 possessions. They squeeze dribbles, rip tempo, and junk up rhythm until guards start second-guessing life choices.

Meanwhile, Mosley continue to spell out his loyalties to Tibbetts out like a family creed:

“NO MATTER WHEN, NO MATTER WHERE, YOU ARE STILL PART OF THIS FAMILY, EVEN IF YOU MOVE ON TO A DIFFERENT SITUATION.”

That’s not just sentiment — that’s Orlando’s whole identity.

Guys still visit Tibbetts. The family tree stays watered. And when Tibbetts took heat for the Phoenix hire (“does he even have the experience?”), he powered through. One year later?

The Mercury are defending like they share one brain and one Wi-Fi signal.

The German Connection Hits Different

Here’s also where it gets spicier: the Germany pipeline.

Orlando’s got Franz and Moritz Wagner.

Phoenix has Satou Sabally, Germany’s chaos merchant on the wing.

Now, you’d think this splits loyalties. Nope. It multiplies them.

The overlap cooks. Orlando invests in Tibbetts.

Germany invests in Sabally.

Everyone wins.

The Venn diagram hugs at halfcourt: Wagner brothers grinding in Orlando’s shell, Sabally wrecking rhythm in Phoenix’s chaos.

Same brand of defense, different jersey colors. Call it “Deutschland Basketball.

Orlando’s Heart, Phoenix’s Jersey

That’s why this connection feels so real.

Look at Phoenix and you see Orlando’s heart in another uniform. Same buy-in. Same joy. Same defensive clamps.

The Mercury turned a four-seed into a Finals machine, and Orlando’s watching like proud cousins at a graduation.

The Finals start in Vegas.

The Magic check the score like they’re checking a little brother’s box score. The group chat buzzes. The German flag emojis fly. Nate Dog’s in the biggest series of his career, and Orlando’s rooting like he never left.