Image credit: ClutchPoints

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren reveals coach’s unique approach that saved season

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints | By Josue Pavon | Last updated May 15, 2025 3:39 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY — After winning Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets, 112-107, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren gave his head coach, Mark Daigneault, credit for keeping faith in his players. Constantly focused on improving and not shocking his doubters, Daigneault is turning NBA fans into believers with a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

For Holmgren, the Thunder’s team-oriented success is a testament to Daigneault’s unwavering confidence in his players, such as Lu Dort, whose three fourth-quarter threes salvaged the Thunder from a double-digit deficit.

“He’s going to stick with you if he believes in you. He’s not an outcome-oriented person,” Holmgren said. “If you’re out there with the right process, the right intentions, trying to make the right play, the outcome of those plays isn’t necessarily what he’s focused on in the short term. If you have a track record behind you, he’s going to believe in that more than what happened in the short-term memory of things.

“And Lu has a track record of coming up big for us on both ends of the floor. It’s going to take a lot more than that for not only Mark but us to lose confidence in him,” Holmgren concluded.

Dort says Daigneault has been impacting his game since his rookie campaign.

“Mark is a big reason why I have this success in this league,” Dort said. “He’s the first coach that called me into the game my rookie year. So, I have a lot of trust in him, and he has a lot of trust in me.”

Mark Daigneault addressed Thunder’s non-believers

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault during a press conference before game four against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault addressed his team’s naysayers after Game 5 . After Tuesday’s 112-105 win against the Nuggets, Daigneault credited Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, and the rest of his team for taking a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

“We don’t play to answer anybody. We just play for one another, for our fans, the guys have an unbelievable connection in the locker room. That’s enough for us, and they’ve had an unbelievable spirit,” Daigneault said. “That’s what they’ve accomplished to this point, and it’s why they show the type of resolve on a night. For a lot of that game, we didn’t have our fastball. But we hang around long enough and showed great will and connectedness down the stretch.”

The Thunder will look to advance to the Western Conference Finals in Game 6 on Thursday.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: