Sam Presti Offers Glowing Review of OKC Thunder Head Coach

From top to bottom, Oklahoma City ran a nearly flawless operation this season. As echoed by the media and front offices across the league though, this is nothing new. The Thunder’s calculated moves over the years have long been setting up for a run of success like this.

The collection of players on the roster gelled perfectly, and the chemistry was certainly top tier. It’s a testament to the Thunder front office to bring in the right kind of players that would eventually find success together. It’s also a testament to the coaching staff, though, and Mark Daigneault in particular. Daigneault was the mastermind behind the Thunder’s scheme and putting every player in the rotation in a position to succeed.

Sam Presti saw the vision in Daigneault early on and took a chance on a young coach who had built his resume through the G League. He was an unknown bench boss when he was hired, but has blossomed into one of the best coaches in the NBA. None of it would’ve happened if Presti didn’t take the chance. On Monday, he gave a glowing review of the head coach during his press conference.

“He's just been remarkable every step of the way,” Presti said. “But he was remarkable when he was coaching the Blue. He's extremely steady. I think he has created an environment for the guys to have confidence.

“Obviously we played a lot of guys throughout the year, and because of that, we had different players be able to perform in the postseason. It wasn't the first time that they've stepped foot on the floor together.”

Daigneault easily could’ve relied on a short rotation with the collection of talent on the roster, but found a way to make sure everyone was capable of having an impact in important games down the road. He was able to balance progression while winning a franchise record 68 games, and that’s no easy task at all.

He managed an MVP, an All-Star, and a collection of bright young players that excelled in their role. This era of basketball in the NBA has been defined by loud voices in the locker room, but Oklahoma City didn’t have a single problem all season long. Daigneault got every player to buy in, and there were no egos across the board.

“He’s doing a great job, and I'm really happy for him. I'm really happy for him and all of the people that he works with on the coaching staff. I don't want to say I'm surprised at how good he is, but he's steadily grown, and he's just like every other person, like, learning from experiences.”