Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault addressed the stark contrast between being an up-and-coming threat and embracing a villain role as defending champions. The Thunder captured its 60th regular-season win on Sunday, beating the Detroit Pistons 114-110 in overtime. Oklahoma City, 60-16, remains atop the Western Conference standings.
After a 24-1 start, some predicted the Thunder would surpass the Golden State Warriors' 73-9 record, which is the best in NBA history. All of a sudden, the defending champions turned into the team fans love to hate, which, for head coach Mark Daigneault, is what the Thunder signed up for after winning a title.
“What I'd say is we have had consistent success for a few years now, including the championship last year. If you look at the history of the NBA, there [are] things that come with the territory of that,” Daigneault said. “I'll say first, we're fortunate to have that success, and there's an element of whatever you want to call it — good fortune/luck — that goes into that success that we are benefiting from, and it's a privilege.”
Daigneault says drowning out the outside noise has never been an issue for his team.
“If you just look at the history of successful teams, there's nothing that should be surprising about what comes at us,” Daigneault added. “At the end of the day, those things — the noise around the team — anything a competitor is doing or the media is doing is just a distraction that can weaken you or, if you can transcend it and cut through with your focus, it can strengthen. And we want to be a team that can cut through distractions.
“We're fortunate to have the success we have. There's things that come with the territory of that, and that presents a different kind of challenge that we have to manage, but the team has done a great job of that.”
What Jalen Williams learned about the Thunder this season
Thunder forward Jalen Williams learned a lot this season, including how talented he and his team are. For Williams, watching from the sidelines offered a new perspective as the All-NBA forward recovered from wrist surgery and two hamstring injuries.
“When you're in it, you probably don't notice as much until you're on the court with a certain group. But we are extremely talented. That was really cool to watch,” Williams said. “Obviously, I wouldn't want to watch it from the sidelines anymore. But, from a team's perspective, watching guys go into different roles and watch them blossom is really cool.”
The Thunder will continue its five-game home stand with a matchup against the Lakers on Thursday.
