OKC Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reflects on Relationship with Mark Daigneault

On Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a series sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans, defeating the No. 8 seed in four consecutive games to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2016.

Leading the way for OKC not only in the series, but all season, was the team's head coach Mark Daigneault.

After winning just 24 games in 2021-22, Daigneault helped Oklahoma City reach 40 wins and a spot in the Play-In Tournament last year. This season, the 39-year-old head coach led one of the youngest teams in the NBA to 57 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, where the Thunder became the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series.

While another superstar season from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a noticeable improvement over the offseason two from Jalen Williams and a standout rookie year from Chet Holmgren get much of the spotlight, Daigneault's coaching deserves just as much credit for OKC's success.

In addition to helping build such a free-flowing and smooth offensive system that has transformed Oklahoma City into one of the best passing and 3-point shooting squads in the NBA, Daigneault is able to get the most out of his players, which shows up in the team's defensive effort.

The Thunder ended the regular season with the No. 3 offensive rating and No. 4 defensive rating in the NBA, also finishing with the second-highest net rating in the league. Additionally, Daigneault seems to be exceptional at getting each player on his young team to buy into their specific role and play for the team rather than for individual accolades.

After winning Game 4 against the Pelicans on Monday night, Gilgeous-Alexander described how his head coach holds himself accountable and without taking credit for the team's success.

“It’s his humility. When something is wrong, it’s his fault, and when something is right, he’s not the reason for it," SGA said. "Seeing that selflessness day in and day out is refreshing, and it makes it easy to play for him. It makes it easy to come to work every day… He’s just an A-plus guy all around.”

On Sunday night, Daigneault was named the winner of the NBA Coach of the Year award, becoming the second coach in Thunder history to win the award.

After coaching OKC to a 4-0 series victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, Gilgeous-Alexander made sure to recognize Daigneault in his postgame interview.

“He started coaching the year my role changed as a player and to see his growth from that beginning to where it is now is amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

"I’ve never really had a relationship with a coach on this professional level like I have with him. It just makes it easy to play, and I think I could say that for the guys across the whole team. He’s so easy to play for because he’s humble… he’s selfless, when he messes up he owns it and then because he’s that way, he can get on us. He can hold us accountable because he holds himself accountable, and it’s just rare to see at this level. We don’t take it for granted, I don’t take it for granted. He deserved Coach of the Year for sure, and got what he deserved.”