Mark Daigneault Articles - Page 9

Jalen Williams’ season-high 31 points led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-88 blowout win against the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night. The Chet Holmgren-less Thunder captured their tenth win of the regular season. However, Williams’ scoring was one of many ways he impacted winning, as head coach Mark Daigneault reminded reporters of Jalen’s productivity. […]

No Chet Holmgren, no problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 134-128 on Monday, improving to 9-2. The Thunder won thanks to a big night from superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose career-high 45 points pushed the team to victory. Moreover, their small-ball lineup had their hands full with Ivica Zubac […]

During the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors game, Draymond Green and Lu Dort got tangled up during a play. Green ended up swiping his arm around Dort’s head, and head coach Mark Daigneault used his coach’s challenge after Dort was called for the foul. Draymond Green received a technical foul on this play […]

Head coach Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets 126-107 in their eighth regular-season win. The star pair of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren scored 29 points apiece, combining for 58, and Jalen Williams contributed 14 points in another double-digit Thunder victory of an unheralded start. The Rockets kept the game […]

The Denver Nuggets handed head coach Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder their first loss of 2024-25. The Nuggets defeated the Thunder 124-122, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a tightly contested layup that would have sent the game into overtime as the clock expired. After scoring a season-high 29 points, veteran point guard Russell Westbrook […]

It is way too early to come to conclusions about anything just two weeks into the 2024-25 season. At the same time, it is a forgone conclusion that the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the better teams in the league who could ultimately win the Western Conference. After a historic 57-25 season in which […]

The Portland Trail Blazers erased a 17-point deficit to pull even at halftime against head coach Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder. A phenomenal 44-point second quarter pulled the game close, keeping the Trail Blazers in it before the Thunder intensified their league-leading defense. They stopped Portland in its tracks amid a 38-17 third […]

Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren took responsibility for the team’s elite defense this season. Still, even he would undoubtedly agree that head coach Mark Daigneault deserves all the credit for the stifling defense. In their 105-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the Thunder not only limited 2024 Rookie of the Year Victor […]

After announcing the news surrounding Isaiah Hartenstein’s hand injury on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder were dealt another injury to their frontcourt in Friday’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks. Jalen Williams suffered a left ankle sprain in the second quarter. Head coach Mark Daigneault addressed Williams’ injury after the Thunder’s 104-99 win. “Left ankle […]

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was just discovering the benefits of Isaiah Hartenstein. The statistical advantages of adding a defensive rebounding center of Hartenstein’s caliber are staggering on paper. However, seeing in real-time while experimenting and tweaking lineups is when the luxury of training camp and exhibition games comes into play this season. […]

After losing 122-113 in overtime to the Houston Rockets, Dillon Jones and the Oklahoma City Thunder improved to 2-1 in preseason play after beating the New Zealand Breakers 117-89 on the second night of a back-to-back. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gave his starters and the rest of his rotational players the night off, showcasing […]

There’s no question that the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA today. With a young core composed of Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chet Holmgren, the Thunder have a bright future ahead of them, all the more so with Mark Daigneault coaching the team. Daigneault’s fourth […]

Head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t hold back in assessing rookies Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell’s respective performances in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 112-107 victory of their preseason opener against the San Antonio Spurs. Mitchell scored a team-high 19 points in the win, and Mitchell was close behind with 17 on an efficient 8-for-11 attempts, but […]

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault wants to elevate his team’s three-point shooting volume this upcoming season. After Daigneault encouraged Aaron Wiggins and Jalen Williams to shoot more threes in 2024-25, he’s extending that approach to his new frontcourt free-agent signee Isaiah Hartenstein. The veteran center told reporters his new head coach wants to […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 38.9% three-point shooting percentage led the NBA in 2023-24, inching out the champion Boston Celtics (38.8%) by a hair. Shooting is vital in this league. Just ask Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who is equipped with an eight-man rotation of shooters, and half of them connected at a 39% clip or […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are gearing up for an exciting 2024-25 campaign. With the odds of making a deep playoff push in their favor, head coach Mark Daigneault shared first impressions of Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, two veterans taking on critical roles on the Thunder’s defensive end, which is projected to be elite this […]

While Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault awaits for first-round pick Nikola Topic to recover from a partially torn ACL, he got his first glimpse at Oklahoma City’s 26th overall pick, Dillon Jones, on the opening day of training camp. Many believe the Thunder drafted Josh Giddy’s replacement in Topic at No. 12, calling […]

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault isn’t changing his routine approach to the upcoming regular season despite its high anticipation as expectations for the league’s reigning Coach of the Year, and his team is as high as ever for the fifth-year head coach. The Thunder upgraded its roster tremendously by trading Josh Giddy to […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder made an unexpected trade, sending former No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for defensive standout Alex Caruso on Thursday. Caruso’s return to Oklahoma City marks a significant moment, as he started his professional career with the team, having been part of training camp and the […]

Don’t lose sight of the forest through the trees. Falling to Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the revamped Dallas Mavericks in a hard-fought Western Conference Semifinals is still an extremely encouraging sign of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s present and future despite knee-jerk disappointment. It wasn’t even two weeks ago that Oklahoma City absolutely dominated the […]

There is no doubt that Oklahoma City Thunder fans are still reeling from Saturday night’s game as their team fell to the Dallas Mavericks, 117-116, losing in the Western Conference semifinals series 4-2. However, people are going to point to a back breaking foul made by star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that was later challenged by Thunder […]

Everything started off close between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. Jason Kidd against Mark Daigneault was the matchup of the night as both squads started to exchange blows. Then, Luka Doncic started to heat up in the second quarter. There was not much that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s squad could do to prevent that scoring […]

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder are locked into a competitive Western Conference semifinals series. There is a strong desire to win on both sides, but the teams also respect one another. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault shared his honest thoughts on the Mavericks being a “good team” before Saturday’s Game 3. […]

Any decision that a Coach of the Year winner makes in an NBA Playoffs series clearly has some rationale to it. Coach Mark Daigneault faced some tough rotations and schemes coming from Jason Kidd. His Oklahoma City Thunder needed to find some momentum on offense against the Dallas Mavericks. This is why he fielded a […]

The 2023-24 MVP Award was announced this week with Denver Nuggets star big man Nikola Jokic winning his third career MVP. While Jokic is certainly a deserving candidate, the voting caused no shortage of uproar on social media with many believing Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had cases […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2024 NBA Playoffs as a surprising 1-seed in the Western Conference that almost nobody was taking seriously because of their youth and postseason inexperience. The perception was that whenever OKC finally petered out in the Playoffs, it would be for the very reason. Now, after sweeping the New Orleans […]

The NBA announced on Sunday night that Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has been named the 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year. Daigneault now joins Scott Brooks as the only other coach in franchise history to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award. The Thunder put together an incredible 2023-24 season […]

When the 2024 NBA Playoffs began, everyone highlighted the series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, two teams with superstar talents that certainly have the capability to go on deep postseason runs. The Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks were another series many were circling in the Western Conference. However, nobody seems to […]

Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently rolling through the rest of the NBA en route to the postseason, where they have a legitimate chance to be the number one seed in the Western Conference when things get underway in one month and one day. In fact, so dominant has […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the top teams in the NBA all season long, but even the best of the best can slip up from time to time. That’s precisely what happened on Thursday night, as the Thunder suffered a shocking 132-118 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. After the game, head […]

When discussing all the awards during the NBA season, MVP and Rookie of the Year always steal the spotlight. However, players can only be as good as the leadership they have guiding them, which is why the Coach of the Year award is the most underrated accolade. So far this season, there are several coaches […]

Playing in front of an ever-raucous crowd in Salt Lake City is never an easy task. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, they had their fair share of difficulties during their Thursday night road game against the Utah Jazz, a contest they won, 134-129. As per usual, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who did the heavy lifting, […]

There are few stories as fun to follow in the NBA this season as the Minnesota Timberwolves. Currently sitting at 20-5, the Timberwolves have the best record in the NBA and refuse to stop winning. Minnesota has won nine of its last 10 games and is hanging with the big boys of the Western Conference. […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are having a tremendous start to the 2023-34 season. The Thunder are 13-7 with a second place standing in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City is a target to many teams due to their impressive performance, but Josh Giddey’s struggles make things harder. Head coach Mark Daigneault provided insight into OKC’s challenges. […]

Newport Beach PD is reportedly looking into the social media allegations that surfaced last week surrounding Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey, per TMZ Sports. Asked about the new information, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault declined to “comment on anything as it relates to [Giddey] off the court.” Daigneault also confirmed that his starting guard […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves in a close game late against the Eastern Conference contending Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, only to fall short in a 127-123 loss. Chet Holmgren was tasked with guarding last season’s NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who scored 35 points. Previously, Holmgren commented on the difficulty of facing the Sixers […]

Oklahoma City Thunder star Josh Giddey spoke to the media Friday afternoon regarding social media allegations of an improper relationship. When asked to comment about the news swirling in the world of basketball, Giddey gave the expected answer of being unable to provide insight into the matter, according to a Ryan Stiles video posted on […]

Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder entered what looked to be a long, tedious rebuild after the departures of Russell Westbrook and Paul George in 2019, followed by Chris Paul’s exit a year later. While the first two seasons of head coach Mark Daigneault’s were painful, the Thunder have since proven that this organization’s […]

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came into the 2023-24 NBA season as a legitimate MVP candidate. He finished last season top five in the MVP voting and depending on how this season goes, he could be a legit contender for the award. He went up against an elite defense in the defending champion Denver […]