Champion Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is building a team culture that will help Oklahoma City thrive long-term, Rylan Stiles of Thunder On SI opines.
Daigneault got his start as the head coach of the club’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, in 2014. He served as an assistant coach under Billy Donovan first in 2016, and again during Donovan’s final season with the team, 2019/20. Daigneault was then elevated to the head coaching role the subsequent season.
After the team missed the postseason while strategically tanking from 2020-22, Daigneault helped the young Thunder post a 40-42 record in 2022/23 and make the play-in tournament, where they were ultimately bounced. Oklahoma City has notched the best record in the Western Conference for each of the past two seasons. Daigneault was named the league’s Coach of the Year with the 57-25 Thunder in 2023/24, and won a title with the 68-14 club’s 2024/25 vintage this past June.
Stiles observes that Daigneault’s Thunder players can often be seen parroting a lot of his strategic talking points a positive indicator of their commitment to his approach.
There’s more out of the Northwest:
- Rising Thunder big man Chet Holmgren agreed to a five-year, maximum rookie-scale extension this summer. The deal is projected to be worth around $240MM. Stiles observes that Oklahoma City has everything it needs to help Holmgren reach another level on offense. The 7’1″ center out of Gonzaga has already struggled with significant health challenges during his nascent pro career. He missed all of what would have been his rookie season in 2022/23 with a foot ailment, and sat out 50 regular season bouts in 2024/25 due to a pelvic fracture. In the 32 regular season games he did play last year, Holmgren averaged 15.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2.0 APG and 0.7 SPG.
- A group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reportedly agreed to purchase controlling ownership of the Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion. Dundon and the Paul Allen estate are hoping to finalize an agreement in September, according to Matthew Kish of The Oregonian. It is anticipated that Dundon will be the biggest shareholder involved, but will also be joined by Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Collective Global Management CEO Sheel Tyle. Tye is based in Portland.
- In case you missed it, the Timberwolves are potentially considering a reunion with free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley.