From the outset of the 2025-26 season, improvement has been an underlying theme for head coach Mark Daigneault in Oklahoma City Thunder training camp, in preparation for the competition that awaits a defending champion. As the youngest team in the league, growth remains a priority, as veteran Alex Caruso reminded reporters of the two Game 7s that pushed the Thunder to the brink of elimination en route to its first title. There is room for improvement.
Daigneault explained why the Thunder must get better amidst a competitive Western Conference and its title defense.
“It can come across as arrogant if presented the wrong way. We win the championship, and if you come out of that, it's like, we can still get better,” Daigneault said. “That's got a tone in it that doesn't feel great, and that's certainly not where we are. Improvement is necessary in our situation because everyone else is getting better. Both rosters, their coaching staffs, scheming, and getting better, their players themselves are getting better.”
It's what every NBA team strives to do during the offseason and into training camp ahead of a regular season.
“If you don't pace ahead of that, you fall behind very quickly,” Daigneault added. “So, I want to be clear that improvement is a necessity for us. We don't look at it as a luxury. It's something we have to do if we want to be good. In terms of the tangibles, a lot of it is getting a little bit better at the things that happen the most. We're not introducing anything new right now. We've got a system in place. The guys have a great fluency in that.
“We don't want to lose our continuity by turning everything over. But, at the same time, we gotta go deeper on the things that are most important,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault concluded.
Alex Caruso's warning to Thunder after surviving 2 Game 7s
Thunder veteran Alex Caruso is the only member on his team who knows what it's like to defend an NBA title. The former Lakers guard knows the competition in the Western Conference will make or break the Thunder in 2025-26, as it looks to win back-to-back titles.
Caruso reminded everyone of how close the Thunder came to being eliminated before winning the 2025 NBA Finals.
“Other than the first [round] and conference finals, the other two series went seven games. So, there’s obviously room for improvement,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “If you come into the season thinking that it's going to be smooth sailing, and it's just going to be the same thing, we'd be really naive to what reality is like. Every season has a different story.”
The Thunder will face the Hornets in its preseason opener on Sunday.
