From High School Captain to NBA Finals Coach: The Rise of Mark Daigneault

Known for being an old soul in high school, Mark Daigneault's poised demeanor as a player has influenced his approach as a young rising NBA coach.

May 28, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault celebrates with his team after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five to win the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

A Coach’s Journey Begins in Massachusetts

Coaching in the NBA Finals just feels like Mark Daigneault’s destiny when you truly consider his path to get there. 

He started out young and at 40-years-old, is still youthful in an industry that's known for aging coaches faster than they should. In high school at Leominster (‘03) in Massachusetts he was known as someone who was mature beyond his years, the captain of the basketball team for head coach Steven Dubzinski who retired a few years ago after 25 years as a Blue Devil. Holding on to hope and what the future might hold, It’s kids like Daigneault that kept him going. Coach Dubzinski might not have been able to predict it back then, but somewhere inside rested a future NBA Finals head coach. 

Known as an old soul with the qualities of a leader, he simply led by example. He thought about the game. He saw plays unfold before they happened.

From Student Manager to NCAA Champion

His basketball IQ outweighed his slight frame. That’s really when the basketball gods reached down and touched Daigneault with a teaching gift in basketball that’s watching him go from being a student manager for Jim Calhoun at the University of Connecticut and winning an NCAA championship in 2004, to college coaching stops with Holy Cross University and the University of Florida where he coached with Billy Donovan prior to joining the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA G-League affiliate from 2014-19. By 2020, it was Daigneault who was leading the Thunder after taking over for his coaching mentor, Billy Donovan.

Daigneault’s Thunder Era: Building a Contender

Just like at Leominster High School, Daigneault is poised and progressive. Implementing new schemes and tactics remains his forte, with his NBA coaching numbers telling the story. 

In year one of the Daigneault era, the Thunder won 22 games, followed by 24 wins, and a 40-win season before notching 57 wins last season, reaching the second round of the playoffs and being named NBA Coach of the Year.

Talent Developer and System Innovator

This year speaks for itself by coaching the NBA All-Star Game and so does Daigneault’s overall track record for developing talent (insert the growth of guys like Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Aaaron Wiggins here to go along with OKC’s Big Three). All Oklahoma City has done since then under Daigneault is become one of the young NBA teams on the rise over the last five years.

68 Wins, an MVP, and the NBA Finals

The 2024-25 season saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emerge as NBA MVP, All-Star Jalen Williams come into his own as the best two-way player in the game, Chet Holmgren being Chet Homgren, and the Thunder rattle off a 68-win season on their way to facing the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. 

Well done, Coach.