Mark Daigneault Gives High Praise to Former OKC Thunder Forward

The Oklahoma City Thunder are attempting to repeat as NBA Champions. Mike Muscala helped laid that foundation.

Apr 27, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault against the Phoenix Suns during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Monday night, it was hard not to reflect on the journey the Oklahoma City Thunder have been on. The team has just completed their third straight sweep of their No. 8 seeded first round matchup. This time, the Bricktown Ballers made quick work the Phoenix Suns, earning nine plus point wins in all four contests.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have rattled off three straight seasons of being the top of the Western Conference, with the last two regular season campaigns placing the Thunder with the best record in the entire NBA.

Though, to get to this point, Oklahoma City went through a pair of down years winning just 22 and 24 games respectively. That was the start of Mark Daigneault's career as the Oklahoma City Thunder bench boss. Though, it was a very important time in what the Thunder ended up becoming. The survivors of the rebuild, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Kenrich Williams, learned the culture that the team still implements to this day. Despite the losing, the Thunder brought in quality veterans to help aid their purposefully young roster.

Among them was veteran big man Mike Muscala. He spent five years with the Thunder from 2019-2023 then again played 16 games for the Bricktown Ballers during the 2023-24 campaign. The 11 year veteran was open and honest about how much this organization meant to him, even getting emotional at his exit interview discussing the Thunder's impact on him.

Now, Muscala has started the next chapter of his life, serving as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns, who the Thunder just swept in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. Daigneualt took time to reflect on what he meant for this now title team.

“I just saw Mike Muscala on the court and it reminded me that he was such a huge part of our build early on. There are more than a few people that were a huge part of that that weren’t here for the last couple of years to see the fruits of that labor, but he’s certainly one of them. I’m happy to see him coaching. He’s a great man. He’s going to have a great career in coaching. Congrats to him on his first season," Daigneault said postgame after the Oklahoma City Thunder's sweep of the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are attempting to be the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors and now await their second round matchup to begin. But it is important to reflect on how the Bricktown Ballers got to this point.