OKC Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault Still Unbeaten in First Round

The Oklahoma City Thunder have advanced to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the third consecutive season.

After finishing off the Phoenix Suns in four games with a 131-122 victory in Arizona, OKC will await the Los Angeles Lakers or Houston Rockets. LeBron James and company hold a 3-1 advantage despite being without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and have the chance to finish the series in Los Angeles on April 29.

With its victory against the Suns, Oklahoma City will get a few extra days off ahead of its second-round matchup, which should help the team rest and give Jalen Williams more time to recover from his hamstring injury.

The series sweep of Phoenix is the Thunder's third consecutive first-round sweep, after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans in 2024 and the Memphis Grizzlies in 2025. Head coach Mark Daigneault has been at the helm for each of OKC's last three playoff runs, and now holds a 12-0 career record in the first round of the playoffs.

Mark Daigneault moves to 12-0 in the first round of the playoffs🏀 pic.twitter.com/m8i4VnDSI7
— Steve McGehee (@SteveMcGehee) April 28, 2026

While much of Daigneault's success in the first round can be attributed to the talent on OKC's roster, including reigning and likely back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the 40-year-old head coach has also played a significant role in the team's success.

Against the Suns, likely the Thunder's most difficult first-round opponent of the past three seasons, Daigneault still managed to make it out of the matchup unscathed despite losing Williams for the rest of the series in Game 2, and being without Isaiah Joe in Game 3.

Daigneault adjusted the team's rotation, inserting Ajay Mitchell into the starting lineup and giving some of Joe's minutes in Game 3 to Jared McCain. While Mitchell's scoring prowess makes him a solid choice to replace Williams in the starting lineup, he had never started a postseason contest until Game 3.

Additionally, Cason Wallace frequently took Williams' spot in the starting lineup throughout the regualr season, starting 58 games compared to 16 for Mitchell. Despite that, and a 5-of-20 performance from the field in Mitchell's first playoff start, Daigneault keep Mitchell in the starting lineup for Game 4.

That decision paid off for the Thunder's head coach, as Mitchell notched 22 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds while finishing as a game-high +27 in the box score.

In his six seasons as an NBA head coach, Daigneault boasts a 275-207 in the regular season record and a 26-11 mark in the playoffs.

Daigneault took over in OKC ahead of the 2020-21 season, and after three consecutive years that saw the Thunder finish with a losing record whlie the team rebuilt its roster, Daigneault earned Coach of the Year in 2024 and has been recognized as Coach of the Month four times since then.

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