Latest news with #Daigneault
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Mark Daigneault planted ‘seeds' to Thunder's NBA Finals growth
The post How Mark Daigneault planted 'seeds' to Thunder's NBA Finals growth appeared first on ClutchPoints. OKLAHOMA CITY — In a regular season where the Oklahoma City Thunder finished with a 24-58 record, head coach Mark Daigneault saw glimmers of hope. All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-Defensive guard Lu Dort are the only remaining starters from the 2021-22 squad, and Kenrich Williams and Aaron Wiggins, a rookie at the time, still come off the bench for Daigneault. Still, so much has changed as the Thunder are the favorites entering the NBA Finals. Advertisement After winning 22 and 24 games in back-to-back seasons, the Thunder finished with 40 wins in 2022-23, then finished with the best record in the Western Conference with a 57-25 mark last season, to a franchise-record 68 wins this year. During NBA Finals Media Day, Daigneault reflected on those early years that set the stage for his first NBA Finals appearance. 'There were very early flickers even in those early years. Those were challenging years at different times. Certainly, they looked like challenging years on paper,' Daigneault said. 'How it felt every day wasn't a reflection of our record or our standing in the league; you could feel that something was starting to simmer. You could feel that some of the seeds we were planting were going to be flowering at some point. There were very early indications of that, even in those seasons. 'So, we were confident even back then. Not necessarily that we'd be in the Finals right now. You never know the timing of when things come together. But we were confident that we were building something special and something that had the ability to sustain,' Daigneault concluded. For Daigneault and the Thunder, the early habits translated into wins, which built confidence both individually and as a team. Advertisement 'Then, as time went on, there were just more and more experiences that gave us more confidence in that, but that belief existed at the earliest point in time,' Daigneault added. 'A lot of that had to do with the way the guys were approaching every day, independent of the outcome of the games.' Now, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is in the NBA Finals. Chet Holmgren's 17 winners Thunder take before NBA Finals Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Thunder forward Chet Holmgren says his team's confidence resonates throughout all of his teammates. It's what's led to a successful season, where the Thunder are four wins away from an NBA title. Advertisement 'The biggest thing is playing for each other. It's the type of guys that we have here,' Holmgren said. 'Everybody's going to tell you that they're a winner, and everybody is a winner until it's inconvenient for them. I feel like we have a team with 17 winners that are going to put winning at the top.' The Thunder will host the Pacers in Game 1. Related: Why Pacers' Aaron Nesmith is ready for SGA after Jalen Brunson battle Related: Thunder's Chet Holmgren makes '17 winners' declaration ahead of NBA Finals
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UConn legend Jim Calhoun shares wish for Thunder's Mark Daigneault after NBA Finals
The post UConn legend Jim Calhoun shares wish for Thunder's Mark Daigneault after NBA Finals appeared first on ClutchPoints. Jim Calhoun has seen legends rise. He has coached some of the biggest names in college basketball and built UConn into a powerhouse. But even with all the banners hanging in Storrs, there is one name Calhoun believes still deserves a spotlight. Advertisement That name is Mark Daigneault. Before leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA title this year and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2024, Daigneault was a quiet presence on the UConn sidelines. He was not a star player or high-profile recruit. From 2003 to 2007, he served as a student manager under Calhoun, taping ankles, fetching towels, and doing the unnoticed work that keeps a program running smoothly. Calhoun recently told longtime UConn reporter Dom Amore that he believes Daigneault should be honored by the university. To him, Daigneault represents something important, something that goes beyond the usual standards of recognition. He wants to see his former student manager celebrated for what he has become—a leader at the highest level of the sport. Daigneault's basketball journey is far from conventional. After graduating from UConn in 2007, he worked his way up through the coaching ranks. He spent time as an assistant at Holy Cross and then joined the Florida Gators under Billy Donovan. Advertisement From there, he made the jump to the NBA G League, where he coached the Oklahoma City Blue. When the Thunder needed a new head coach in 2020, they turned to Daigneault, and he quietly began crafting a new era for the team. Fast forward to this season. The Thunder posted a league-best 68 wins. His team battled through the playoffs, reached the Finals, and captured the elusive NBA title, while showcasing one of the most exciting young cores in the league. It was a season built on chemistry, discipline, and player development—things Daigneault learned to value in his early days at UConn. That is what makes Calhoun's push for recognition so meaningful. He is not just campaigning for a former assistant or a rising coach; he is vouching for someone who grew up in the UConn system, someone who poured time and energy into the program without ever putting on a uniform. It reflects the culture Calhoun created. UConn has always prided itself on grit, teamwork, and a deep respect for the game. Daigneault embodies all of that. Honoring him would not only celebrate his success, but it would send a message to every student manager, trainer, and behind-the-scenes worker in college basketball that their contributions matter. Advertisement There are many ways UConn could pay tribute. Perhaps a ceremony at Gampel Pavilion or a plaque in the training facility. Maybe even inclusion in the Huskies of Honor. The details are less important than the gesture itself. What matters is that UConn recognizes a man who started in its locker rooms and now leads on basketball's biggest stage. Daigneault's rise is not a fluke. It is the result of years of dedication and a deep understanding of the game. He coached with calm under pressure during the Thunder's postseason run and earned the respect of players, analysts, and peers alike. And it all began in Storrs, with a coach who believed in him. As the Thunder continue to celebrate their title, Calhoun's call for recognition serves as a reminder that UConn is not just a school of champions; it is a school that builds character. Daigneault's journey is proof of that. In a world where stars often grab the headlines, it is refreshing to see a story about someone who worked in the shadows and rose to greatness. Daigneault may not have made game-winning shots in a UConn jersey, but his legacy is just as important. Advertisement And now, it is time for UConn to say thank you. Related: Duke coach Jon Scheyer drops truth bomb on Cooper Flagg's Mavericks fit Related: Iowa State basketball sends 3-word message to Tyrese Haliburton after painful Game 7
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mussatto: Thunder's 17th chapter is best one yet as OKC beats Pacers for first NBA title
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. Sam Presti sees every season as a chapter in the Thunder's history book. 'What we have this year,' the Thunder general manager said days before the 2024-25 season, 'is the opportunity to write the 17th chapter, and we're really excited about doing that.' Advertisement Chapter 17 — spoiler alert — ended with a championship. The Oklahoma City Thunder claimed the 2025 NBA title, beating the Indiana Pacers in a spectacular series, capped by a 103-91 win in Game 7 Sunday night at Paycom Center. The Thunder was going to be an outlier one way or another depending on how the NBA Finals played out. On one hand, OKC was too good to lose. A 68-win regular season team that seemed destined to raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy. A team that routinely trounced opponents, finishing with the highest average margin of victory in NBA history. A squad defined by its swarming brand of defense. Advertisement More: For international media, 2025 NBA Finals has been new experience in OKC, Indiana Buy our commemorative page prints, books, keepsakes On the other hand, the Thunder was too young to win. Teams are supposed to fail over and over before they finally break through. The playoff scars that adorn eventual champions? The Thunder got here with nary a scratch. That's not to say it wasn't earned. Quite the opposite. It speaks to the Thunder's 'uncommon' nature, as coach Mark Daigneault likes to say. The championship is the first in Thunder history. It came 17 years after the franchise relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Thirteen years after its first NBA Finals berth. Nine years after Kevin Durant left Bricktown for The Bay. Six years after the seismic summer of 2019, when the trades of Paul George and franchise icon Russell Westbrook spawned a new era of Thunder basketball. Advertisement Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the prize of the George trade, has supplanted Westbrook as the greatest Thunder of them all. SGA, the league's regular-season MVP, capped his remarkable season and playoff run with an NBA Finals MVP-worthy performance. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren rose to the moment, forming a vaunted Big Three alongside Gilgeous-Alexander. Daigneault, an anonymous name five years ago when he was hired, shepherded the Thunder through it all. After two 20-something-win seasons, the Thunder made the play-in. Then the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Then, as the No. 1 seed yet again, Daigneault coached the Thunder to the title. And Presti? Only one line was missing from his resume: NBA champion. Advertisement No longer. Hired at 29 as the franchise's general manager, this championship was a culmination of Presti's vision. A vision that became vivid reality The first 16 chapters of the Thunder built up to an unforgettable 17th: The Championship. More: For international media, 2025 NBA Finals has been new experience in OKC, Indiana Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@ . Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at . This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder's 17th chapter is best one yet as OKC beats Pacers for first NBA title
5 days ago
- Sport
Game 7: After a back-and-forth NBA Finals, it's time for the Thunder and Pacers to decide the title
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault knows exactly why the NBA Finals are coming down to a Game 7. 'It's a contest of wills,' he said. And to this point, neither side has lost its will. Back and forth they have gone, the Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Indiana led the series, then Oklahoma City tied it, then Indiana retook the lead, then Oklahoma City tied it again, then it was the Thunder who moved one win away and then the Pacers knotted the matchup for a third time. After all that, Game 7. It happens Sunday, with tipoff at 8:07 p.m. Eastern, for the NBA title. After six games — some close, some blowouts, the teams alternating who is in control of the series — there clearly is a mutual admiration between the clubs. 'It's two teams where the whole is better than the sum of the parts,' Daigneault said. 'It's two teams that are highly competitive. Two teams that play together. Two teams that kind of rely on the same stuff for their success that are squaring off against each other.' It is the 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Home teams went 15-4 in the previous 19. Indiana is seeking its first NBA title; Oklahoma City would say the same, although the franchise won the 1979 title when the team played in Seattle. And the winner will become the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none other in NBA history. Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic 'bubble' in 2020, Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023 and Boston won last year's title. Late Sunday night, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will hand the Larry O'Brien Trophy to either the Thunder or Pacers — one of whom will become the ninth franchise to win a title in Silver's 12 seasons leading the league. His predecessor, David Stern, saw eight different franchises win championships in his 30 seasons as commissioner. 'You never know how it's going to go,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'I'd be lying if I said this has gone exactly as I expected because each playoff series, each game is a different thing. Each game takes on a different personality, has different characteristics. Different guys step up. Different situations happen, etc. The truth is that nothing else previous to this matters at all now. We're just down to one game and one opportunity. We're really looking forward to it.'
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Game 7: After a back-and-forth NBA Finals, it's time for the Thunder and Pacers to decide the title
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault knows exactly why the NBA Finals are coming down to a Game 7. 'It's a contest of wills,' he said. And to this point, neither side has lost its will. Back and forth they have gone, the Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Indiana led the series, then Oklahoma City tied it, then Indiana retook the lead, then Oklahoma City tied it again, then it was the Thunder who moved one win away and then the Pacers knotted the matchup for a third time. After all that, Game 7. It happens Sunday, with tipoff at 8:07 p.m. Eastern, for the NBA title. After six games — some close, some blowouts, the teams alternating who is in control of the series — there clearly is a mutual admiration between the clubs. 'It's two teams where the whole is better than the sum of the parts,' Daigneault said. 'It's two teams that are highly competitive. Two teams that play together. Two teams that kind of rely on the same stuff for their success that are squaring off against each other.' It is the 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Home teams went 15-4 in the previous 19. Indiana is seeking its first NBA title; Oklahoma City would say the same, although the franchise won the 1979 title when the team played in Seattle. And the winner will become the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none other in NBA history. Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic 'bubble' in 2020, Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023 and Boston won last year's title. Late Sunday night, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will hand the Larry O'Brien Trophy to either the Thunder or Pacers — one of whom will become the ninth franchise to win a title in Silver's 12 seasons leading the league. His predecessor, David Stern, saw eight different franchises win championships in his 30 seasons as commissioner. 'You never know how it's going to go,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'I'd be lying if I said this has gone exactly as I expected because each playoff series, each game is a different thing. Each game takes on a different personality, has different characteristics. Different guys step up. Different situations happen, etc. The truth is that nothing else previous to this matters at all now. We're just down to one game and one opportunity. We're really looking forward to it.'
