OKC Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault Named All-Star Game Head Coach

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the best record in the NBA's Western Conference at the All-Star Break which sends Mark Daigneault to the All-Star Game as the Head Coach of one of the four teams. The Thunder will name an assistant coach to lead one of the other four teams, the NBA announced today.

Jan 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault looks on during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting at 34-7 following Sunday’s lopsided win over the Brooklyn Nets, 127-101. 

This win cements the fact that the OKC Thunder will be leading the Western Conference at the time of the All-Star Break which is how the league determines who will be the coaching staff for the All-Star game festivities. 

This season is different from most. The league is once again attempting to re-imagine the All-Star game that has lost its luster in recent vintages. 

Now, the NBA will split the teams up into four groups and play a tournament-style event on the Sunday of All-Star weekend. Mark Daigneault along with an assistant will lead two of the four teams. The other two teams will be coached by the no. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference at the time of the All-Star break - with their head coach and one assistant taking the other two squads. 

This is the first time Daigneault has been named coach of the All-Star game despite wrestling away the No. 1 seed a year ago on the last week of the year, the Thunder didn’t have it at the mid-winter classic.  

"An honor. A huge thank you to all the people that are behind the scenes in the organization that work with the players, not only this season but in previous seasons. This has been a build, and a lot of people have their fingerprints on that," Daigneault said about the selection.

He is also the first Oklahoma City Thunder head coach to be tabbed as the All-Star coach since Scott Brooks had the honor in the 2013-14 season. 

The All-Star game(s) will take place on Feb. 16 at 7 PM CT, broadcasted on TNT. 

Oklahoma City will have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander locked into the starting lineup of an All-Star team with Jalen Williams in serious contention to join him on the All-Star roster as well. 

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.