Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has had an impressive season in only his fifth year as head coach. He’s led the young Thunder team to the top seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive year.
In March, the Thunder were a dominant team, with 15 wins and just one loss. This impressive team performance led coach Daigneault to win his second consecutive NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month Award.
Around this time last season, it was already well-known that Daigneault would likely win the Coach of the Year Award.
This season, however, that is not the case. According to Bet MGM, Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson is currently the betting favorite at -300 odds. While Daigneault sits at +2000 odds.
While this may seem like a not-so-close race, Atkinson’s odds were at -1600 just a week ago. This means the race may be closer than expected as the 2024-25 NBA season comes to a close.
Daigneault’s Constant Improvement
When Mark Daigneault took over the OKC squad in the 2020-21 season, the team was going through the first year of a real rebuild after trading away their star players, Russell Westbrook and Paul George. The team struggled that year, winning just 22 games and finishing 14th in the conference.
The next year, the Thunder continued to struggle but still found a way to improve their win total (24), but still finished 14th in the Western Conference.
In the 2022-23 season, Daigneault coached the team to a much-improved 40-win total. The team finished with the tenth seed, which earned them a spot in the NBA play-in tournament. They eventually fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The next season, however, Daigneault and the team stepped up to another level. After clinching the first seed in the Western Conference, Daigneault earned himself Coach of the Year honors. Improving from 40 to 57 wins, things were starting to look up for the Thunder.
This season, Daigneault has coached the team to a franchise record 63 wins, with seven games left to go. He has brought a sense of resilience and confidence to the team. His players are known for playing hard, being unselfish, and staying competitive, which reflects his leadership and motivational skills.
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A Historic Year for OKC
This year has been arguably the best in OKC history.
The Thunder currently sit at No. 1 all-time in point differential per game by team in NBA history at 13.39. Who are the teams that sit behind them? The record-setting 73-win 2016-17 Warriors, 71-72 Lakers, and the 95-96 Bulls are considered some of the greatest teams in NBA history.
Daigneault has also coached the team to the lowest defensive rating in the league, 105.9. This is one of the lowest defensive ratings the league has seen in several seasons. The team also leads the league in steals (10.4), opponent points in the paint (42.6), deflections per game (21.1), and loose balls recovered per game (5.8).
The hustle-defense culture created by Mark Daigneault has led this team to the top of the league this season. As they look to make a push towards an NBA Championship, Daigneault should also aim to be the first coach to win back-to-back Coach of the Year honors.
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