Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault understands the depths of difficulty that come with winning an NBA championship. Hammering down lessons learned from the regular season are important, and so is momentum, which is undoubtedly on the Thunder's side. All-NBA forward Jalen Williams is back and playing at a high level. Oklahoma City has won 19 of its last 21 games.
Still, Daigneault says there's plenty of work that lies ahead for the Thunder. In preparing to win back-to-back titles, having a fully healthy roster is rare for the 2025-26 Thunder.
“It's late in the year, and there [are] varying levels of stuff you can get out of this time of year, but I think the combination of some of the opponents we've played, and our team being whole for the first time all season has given us a great sense of purpose, which is good,” Daigneault said. It keeps us sharp.
“Last season, at this time, we still were trying to improve, but we were so far ahead in the standings that we were really having to generate our own sense of purpose. Right now, we're not having to do that. We know that we need to get a rhythm, and we need to improve together. And that all these opponents we're playing against are playing for something.”
The Thunder hasn't lost since a 119-109 defeat to the Boston Celtics on the road. Since then, Daigneault has guided his team to impressive wins, such as an 11-point victory against the New York Knicks (111-100) and a 114-110 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons before blowing out the Los Angeles Lakers, 139-96.
Williams averaged 16.3 points on 50% shooting, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in his first four games back. Then, he flirted with a triple-double (10 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) in the Thunder's 43-point victory against the Lakers.
Mark Daigneault identifies the pros and cons of Thunder's start
The Thunder's historic 24-1 record at the start of the regular season immediately threw them in comparisons to the 2015-16 Warriors. After the Spurs handed the Thunder three losses in 12 days, it brought the defending champions back down to reality.
For Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, getting his team to remain focus on growth came with challenges amidst such a successful beginning.
“Early it was playing with a really good record. There are challenges that come with that. We were rolling, and yet, we have two-thirds of the season left. You can't just start coasting at that point,” Daigneault said. “So, that was certainly a challenge; I thought the team handled it really well. Then we started to hit not only injuries but also the fluidity of those injuries. Those guys, like, constantly in and out.”
After coming back from wrist surgery, Jalen Williams suffered the same right hamstring injury twice this season. Thunder starting center Isaiah Hartenstein has been in and out of the lineup due to a right soleus injury, while in the backcourt, Lu Dort and Alex Caruso have missed a combined 37 regular-season games.
The injuries opened up opportunities for the reserves. Thunder's Isaiah Joe is having the best season of his career, averaging career bests in points (10.8), rebounds (2.6), and steals (0.7) per game, and 3-point shooting percentage (41.4%).
“Early in the season, we were able to get a rhythm without Dub because he wasn't there the whole time. So, we still caught a rhythm and kind of figured out how we were going to play without a very important player,” Daigneault added. “In the middle of the season, it was a lot of in-and-out. We get one guy back, and one guy would go out.
“So, there was a ton of disruption. And this team's done a great job in trying to make the most of those opportunities and being highly adaptive. And as we know, heading into the playoffs, adaptability is a huge part of navigating a series. That's a muscle that's worth building. And this team did a great job of that this year.”
After hosting the Jazz at the Paycom Center on Easter Sunday, the Thunder will head to California for its last three-game road trip before hosting the Suns in its regular-season finale.
