OKC Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault Named Team USA Assistant

USA Basketball is a big deal, from the FIBA competitions to the Olympic stage. Since 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been closely tied to Team USA. Seeing many members of the organization contribute to their dominance.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have turned in the best record in the Western Conference three years running, with a championship in 2025 to boot, via a loaded roster. Many expect All-NBA Swingman Jalen Williams and All-NBA Center Chet Holmgren to be in contention to join Team USA after making a name for themselves at the NBA level.

While that decision is still far away, the Thunder are guaranteed to have at least one representative on Team USA, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is slated to join Team USA's coaching staff.

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra paces the sidelines for Team USA. Daigneault will join Spoelstra's staff as well as Detroit's bench boss JB Bickerstaff and Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. This gives Holmgren a pair of coaches on staff that are extremely familiar with his skillset and game in Daigneault and Few, his NBA and College coach respectively.

Team USA has World Cup Qualifiers this summer on Aug. 27 against Chile and Aug. 31 against Colombia. It seems unlikely that Team USA will send its NBA players or staff but soon the responsibilities will tip-off for this new-look coaching crew.

The actual FIBA World Cup will take place Aug. 27 through Sept. 12, 2027. Daigneault isn't the only member of the Thunder who will for sure be part of the FIBA World Cup fun, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC Thunder defensive ace Lu Dort are each playing for Team Canada in the FIBA World Cup.

The last time this event rolled around, Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort were each part of history as Team Canada was able to finish in third place.

Daigneault joins the historic Team USA basketball program as one of the best young minds in the sport. This isn't the first time that the Oklahoma City Thunder bench boss will get to be around some all time greats, he was the coach of the All-Star game two years ago which he spoke about with high regard getting to know briefly some of the league's brightest stars.

This will be a more hands-on and longer process that you imagine, just like for players, is a massive achievement for coaches to represent their country on the World stage.

USA Basketball is expected to name Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault, Detroit's JB Bickerstaff and Gonzaga's Mark Few as assistant coaches for national team coach Erik Spoelstra's staff, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/fLD5EQNlxe
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2026

Add us as a preferred source on Google