The Oklahoma City Thunder are the toast of the NBA right now. While they have one of the youngest rosters in the league, they managed to stand atop a fiercely competitive Western Conference full of talent-heavy rosters.
While young stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren deserve credit for the Thunder’s incredible record, Mike Daigneault also deserves the lion’s share of the glory for his fantastic work with this young Thunder roster.
It appears that almost every voter for the biggest individual awards agrees as one of the youngest coaches in the NBA is awarded with one of the top awards this season.
Mike Daigneault wins Coach of the Year for his excellent leadership over the Oklahoma City Thunder
Voters believed that the way Daigneault carried the team past the league’s best was instrumental in him getting the award. Many were pleasantly surprised that the Thunder managed to stand out despite the team being full of young players who don’t have any real playoff experience.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers rained praise on the young coach, saying that not everyone can do what he did with the Thunder. Per Sports Al Dente’s Robert Jackson:
“Working with a group of young players and getting them to commit to a championship-level mindset is quite challenging,” Rivers remarked before the Thunder defeated the Bucks late in the regular season. “And the proof is evident because not many young teams reach their level of success. It’s an easy call for me.”
SGA also didn’t hold back when it came to praising the only man he’s known to coach the Oklahoma City Thunder after being shipped to the team from the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to a February Sports Illustrated piece, SGA credits Daigneault for transforming the on-the-court culture at OKC:
“As far as on the court… he always understands what the right thing to say is. And the things that matter, he always emphasizes. When he speaks, guys listen and guys understand that it’s something that is going to make or break our team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked about his head coach at All-Star Weekend.
“I think that over time we’ve seen… not only his development, but we’ve seen kind of his schemes and his work coming to life and really lead this pack and steer us in the right way. We all have his respect and appreciate him.”
The future is bright for this young Thunder squad, and fans hope Mike Daigneault will be with them the same way Gregg Popovich has been for the San Antonio Spurs.
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