Oklahoma City Coach Mark Daigneault Impressed in Season One
Mark Daigneault’s first season didn’t go as expected.
An assistant with Florida from 2010-14 and the head coach of Oklahoma City’s G-League affiliate from 2014-19, Daigneault wasn’t expected to help the Thunder win games.
But that’s exactly what he did.
Expectation’s were low for the mysterious Daigneault, who was chosen over a pool of fairly solid free agent coaches.
The visibly fiery Daigneault quickly proved he belonged pacing up and down the hardwood, helping Oklahoma City to overachieve before its roster was torn down for player evaluation.
Micro-decisions first showed Daigneault’s prowess as a basketball mind. Not calling a timeout with seconds left to allow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the necessary spaces to hit a last-second shot. Toying with lineups to find the most competitive version of each squad.
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Oklahoma City finished 2-22 in its last 24 games, and 22-50 on the season to earn the fourth-best draft odds. To not fault of Daigneault’s, the Thunder reached deep into its roster to evaluate players and potentially snag better draft picks.
Overall, Daigneault consistently did the best he could with the roster he was handed, and Oklahoma City has one less thing to worry about amidst an all-time rebuild.
