Thunder promoting Mark Daigneault to head coach

The Thunder has hired from within to fill their head-coaching vacancy. Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Thunder promoting assistant Mark Daigneault to head coach

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 11/11/20

The Oklahoma City Thunder have found their next head coach after Billy Donovan agreed to mutually part ways with the club in September following the expiration of his contract.

Oklahoma City will promote assistant Mark Daigneault to be their next head coach, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are promoting assistant Mark Daigneault to become the franchise’s next head coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 11, 2020

Daigneault completed his first season as an assistant with the Thunder in 2020. He previously served as Oklahoma City's G League coach for five years, racking up a .572 winning percentage and three division titles.

The 35-year-old takes over just three weeks before the start of training camp on Dec. 1. Daigneault was part of a weeks-long coaching search that included a number of candidates meeting with the OKC staff multiple times, including Will Weaver, who emerged as a serious candidate over the last week.

Oklahoma City is hoping Daigneault will be able to help the team better their standing in the Western Conference. The Thunder finished as the Western Conference's sixth seed last season, earning a spot in the NBA bubble playoffs. They were eliminated in seven games by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.

The Thunder have made it to the postseason in each of the past five seasons, but they've lost in the first round four out of five times. They haven't made it to the NBA Finals since the 2011-12 campaign.

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