Mark Daigneault and OKC Thunder Players Sound Off On Clinching Postseason Bid

The Oklahoma City Thunder clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs with their win over the New York Knicks on Sunday. Mark Daigneault and players sound off on the accomplishment.

Mar 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder (52-22) knocked off the New York Knicks (44-30) escaping with 113-112 win sprinting away from Madison Square Garden to punch their ticket to the NBA Playoffs.

After repositioning themselves following the 2019 season, the Thunder have clinched the postseason for the 12th time since the 2010 season. That is the second most in the NBA in that span. After winning 22 and 24 games the two seasons following the league-shifting trades, the Thunder leaped to 40 wins a season ago earning a trip to the NBA Play-in Tournament.

After falling a game shy of advancing to the NBA playoffs, the Thunder have made yet another massive leap, rattling off 52 wins with eight games to play. Having already earned a spot in the NBA playoffs, the Thunder were asked to reflect on what this accomplishment means following their win in New York.

“Great accomplishment for the organization. There's a lot of invisible people whose fingerprints are on that, that have put a lot of work in, in our support staff, up and down the organization. No one deserves it more than our players. These guys have shown uncommon poise and toughness," Mark Daigneault said following Friday's win against the Knicks to clinch a postseason bid. "A lot of them have been a part of this build, and (we’ve) tasted our own blood at different times. And we've just stuck with it. I couldn't be happier for the team, for the organization.”

Along with the Thunder bench boss, Oklahoma City players were also asked about the achievement following Sunday's clash with the Knicks. Including Josh Giddey who posted a triple-double in Madison Square Garden for the third time in as many trips.

“To think where we've come from from, 12 months ago, 24 months ago when I first got here, it's unbelievable...there's probably a lot of the basketball world (that) didn't think we'd be where we're at this quickly…I've been a part of games where we've been blown out by 70. I've been a part of games where we've won by 60. So I've seen both sides of it. It feels much better to be on this end of it.“ Giddey said.

The Thunder's MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chimed in saying, "This team has big goals, big aspirations, It was one of the things on our list for sure."

Oklahoma City's rising star Jalen Williams, who dropped 33 points in the team's win over New York is happy with clinching but knows there's still work to do.

"It feels good. it's not something that we're gonna really celebrate about yet," said Williams. "There's still a ton of games left in the season. The West is loaded right now. Everybody's within one game of each other. So it's kind of like an arms race. So it's something that we're happy about, but at the same time, it's kind of just one of those things where we got to play Philly. That's what we're turning the page to and we're not going to look too far ahead. It does feel good to know that we were able to turn it around a little faster than I think most people expected."

Obviously, the Thunder are not satisfied with just making the playoffs as Oklahoma City has put themselves in a position to contend for a championship this year. However, there has to be a level of acknowledgment of the impressive three-season turnaround that led to this moment.

Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their Eastern Conference road trip seeing the Thunder travel up to Philadelphia and battle the 76ers on TNT Tuesday night. This will be the front end of a back-to-back set, setting the table for the Thunder to battle the Celtics in Boston on ESPN.

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