Mark Daigneault Understands Thunder Will 'Gain Wisdom' From First Playoff Appearance
The new era of Thunder basketball is here with the current roster making the playoffs first the first time together.
A couple of days removed from the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder has been the talk of the town. As the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, a narrative is swirling that the Thunder is a "weak" top seed and they're bound to lose in the first round.
Whether the narrative has any truth to it or not is yet to be seen, and the Thunder will have a chance to prove otherwise starting on Sunday.
No matter the result of the playoffs, whether they end in the first round or NBA Finals, the Thunder will have something to take away from their first real postseason appearance since 2020. Valuable experience will be had by the young Thunder team -- the youngest No. 1 seed of all time. Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault understands such.
“We'll gain wisdom from this experience. Plain and simple. That doesn't put a cap on what we are capable of right now. But we will be more wise at the end of whatever our playoff run is than we are today. And we're not afraid to admit that. That's a good thing,” Daigneault explained to the media on Thursday.
A big talking point about the Thunder and why they potentially could see a first-round exit is their youth and inexperience. If they were this super inexperienced, young team, it's hard to imagine they would have earned the top seed and played with such consistency. While they're young on paper, they certainly play beyond their years.
Still, even with an early exit, the Thunder is benefitting from being "too young" to compete rather than too old. It's not like the window is closing this year. A big part of the team's core is on their rookie deals, and there's plenty of time for them to grow together, gain this valuable experience and apply it moving forward.
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