“He had a great passion about him and energy for the game. Everyone felt highly about him,” said ex-Nuggets assistant GM Jeff Weltman about Jamahl Mosley. He was a local hero at the University of Colorado where scored 1,171 points from 1997 to 2001, and was even a 2000 All-Big third-team selection. After going undrafted in 2001, Mosley went abroad to pursue hooping. His first destination was Mexico, followed by Australia, Spain, Finland, and South Korea, then taking a break in 2005. After returning to the US, he bumped into then-Nuggets assistant coach John Welch, who invited him to help with player workouts.

Jamahl Mosley then became a regular at Denver, so much so Head Coach George Karl gave him money to help him stay afloat, as the hoopster didn’t have an active source of income. According to Mosley, “George was like, ‘Here.’ He wrote me a check for $2,500 to help make sure I was OK. He was like, ‘I know it’s tough and you’re trying to get on,’ and he took care of me there. And I didn’t have a job.” It was a great help for Mosley, who was having a rough time.

John Welch and George Karl motivated Jamahl Mosley to take up coaching, and after contemplating returning to playing, he eventually took the coaching route. Karl took him under his wing and he became an assistant coach at the Nuggets from 2007 to 2010, which kick-started his coaching career. However, his journey started much earlier in the world of basketball, let’s take a look at his background and roots to know more about the current Orlando Magic boss.

Is Jamahl Mosley’s ethnicity and family roots- is he American?

Jamal Mosley was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to parents James and Deborah Mosley on October 6th, 1978. So, while the head coach is American by nationality, he is of African-American descent. Jamahl was the second child and when he was just 6, his parents divorced, leaving young Mosley and his brother to be raised by their mother. They moved to San Diego, where JM attended Rancho Buena Vista High School. There, he picked up basketball and was named California Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year in 1997!

Did Jamahl Mosley play in the NBA?

Jamahl Mosley never played in the NBA, after he went undrafted in 2001. He played for several professional teams around the world like the Petroleros de Salamanca, Victoria Titans, Baloncesto León, Korihait, and Seoul Samsung Thunders. One of Jamahl’s major achievements as a player includes winning the NBL’s Best Sixth Man title in 2002.

After assistant coaching stints at the Nuggets, Cavs, and Dallas, it was time for the father of 3 to take the next big step in the hoops world. The Magic were ready to hand him his first head coach gig, and the former hoopster recalls a very funny yet heartwarming experience with his daughter back in the day.

“My daughter comes in my room and she’s like, ‘I don’t want to leave! I’m like, ‘But, babe, this is what we’ve talked about, what we’ve prayed about, Daddy possibly becoming the head coach somewhere.’ And she was like, ‘But I thought you would be [in] Dallas.’ I said, ‘But, baby, sometimes things happen this way, it’s what God wants for us.’”

“And so then she was like, ‘But I’m happy you’re going to be a head coach and you’re going to be great, Dad.’ A 7-year-old. That’s my 7-year-old telling me this. I lost it. I’m telling you, her spirit, man. Lost it,” Jamahl Mosely recalled. Don’t we all crave a little support from our closest ones? Oh, surely this tops it!