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Recently, the Oklahoma City Thunder hoisted the first NBA championship trophy in franchise history thanks to a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. It was a resounding vindication that had been defying the odds all year.
One of the main sources of doubt regarding this Thunder team was their youth–in fact, the Thunder became the second youngest team ever to win an NBA Finals.
Recently, Oklahoma City big man Isaiah Hartenstein stopped by The Rich Eisen Show and revealed a unique method that Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault used to motivate his team before games.
“He would sometimes show us before games, before practices, animals hunting. Kind of weird stuff like that,” said Hartenstein, per Clemente Almanza of OKC Thunder Wire on X, formerly Twitter.
Daigneault is also among the youngest head coaches in the NBA, further helping the Thunder solidify themselves against the doubters this spring.
In some ways, his unorthodox methods are reminiscent of Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has also implemented some off the wall techniques to help get his team in the right frame of mind and convey his messages.
The Thunder are in the unique position of having won the NBA championship and still having several avenues to get better over the next few years. Much of Oklahoma City's core of players, including Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, have likely not yet even hit their primes, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only at the beginning of his.
That, combined with the treasure trove of draft assets at general manager Sam Presti's disposal, means that these Thunder could be around for quite some time.
The Thunder have already signed Gilgeous-Alexander to a massive contract and did not lose a single member of their main rotation to either free agency or trade.
