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Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was voted as the Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday.
Daigneault helped guide the Thunder to a record of 57-25 during the 2023-24 regular season, good enough for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City has increased its winning percentage in each of the past three years under the former assistant coach.
Wojnarowski revealed that other coaches to receive votes were the Cleveland Cavaliers’ J.B. Bickerstaff, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, the Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, and the Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley.
Daigneault was hired as the head coach of the Thunder in 2020, although he’s been a part of the organization since 2014. He started off as the head coach of the team’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, before he moved to the NBA.
He’s been able to develop a Thunder team that has excelled on both ends of the court, owning the second-best net rating in the association behind the 64-win Celtics (via NBA.com). Oklahoma City has remained successful despite owning one of the league’s youngest rosters, as all five of the team’s top scorers are younger than 26 years old.
The Thunder have been led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has blossomed into one of the NBA’s top players under Daigneault. Gilgeous-Alexander wrapped up his second consecutive year averaging at least 30 points per game, scoring 30.1 points each night on 53.5/35.3/87.4 shooting splits.
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23-year-old forward Jalen Williams improved across the board during his sophomore campaign, while 7’1″ center Chet Holmgren averaged 16.5 points and 2.3 blocks per game during his stellar rookie season.
The Thunder have established themselves as one of the league’s top teams, which is even more impressive considering how bright the future still is for several key contributors. Under Daigneault, Oklahoma City should remain a consistent playoff contender for the foreseeable future.
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