From five seasons as the Oklahoma City Blue head coach to the NBA’s Coach of the Year, Mark Daigneault’s journey can best be characterized as the blueprint to successful coaching. As one of the youngest head coaches in the association, Daigneault has earned his stripes as arguably the best among the 30 men who are seen holding a clipboard on the sidelines every night.
Coaches rarely earn a distinct honor in the eyes of fans. However, the 39-year-old’s steady progression ought to be studied. Brought in smack-dab in the early part of the Oklahoma City Thunder rebuild, he has somehow given life to a contender in four years.
Among the best under 40
Winning the COTY is something he described as a reflection of his players believing in his system, which is another angle that illustrates how Oklahoma City is united and empowered by its stunning youth.
It’s about time coaches were put on a distinguished list. Recently, The Athletic composed a list of the 40 best coaches, general managers, and executives under 40. Set to enter his 40s next basketball season, Daigneault aims to make this coaching season the most memorable of his career.
“Daigneault has established himself as one of the league’s best head coaches, even as he holds a sub.500 record over his four seasons on the sideline in Oklahoma City,” wrote The Athletic’s Vorkunov. “He won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award this past season after finishing second the year before. He has implemented a unique style of play with the Thunder, and those who know speak well of his ability to connect with others and his EQ. LeBron James and JJ Redick are among his fans.”
The goal for next season
The Thunder were 22-50 in the win-loss column in the 2020 season, the first year with Mark at the helm. In what was the first aggressive rebuilding year for the Thunder, there wasn’t much for fans to sink their teeth into aside from hoping all the losing would culminate in winning at some point.
The Thunder made a two-win improvement in the following season and then a whopping 16-win jump in 2022, all while the team’s core began taking shape and the players were constantly absorbing Daigneault’s coaching style.
This takes us to last season, a historic 57-win year for the youngest No. 1 seed ever, officially marking one of the greatest season-to-season turnarounds in the history of the NBA and now pinning the Thunder’s hopes on a title in 2025.
“I learned a long time ago, my first year as a head coach — everyone tells you to be yourself,” Daigneault said , per The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi . “And I think that’s actually not great advice. I think you have to do your job. If your job is to elevate the team to the best of your ability, that’s what you need to do. If the job is for the team to play better than the sum of the parts, that’s your job. You can apply your personality to it, but that’s my job. ”
It turns out that being himself has gotten him somewhere he perhaps couldn’t have even envisioned. While the Thunder and their head coach are still short of the ultimate goal, there’s not another story quite like Daigneault’s rise as a coach for one of the youngest teams ever.
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