By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Oklahoma City Thunder’s young chief tactician Mark Daigneault just clinched the NBA 2023-2024 Coach of the Year award confirmed on April 29, 2024.
After leading the youngest team in the NBA to the playoff round while also getting top-seed honors, the 39-year-old mentor will have the chance to steer the Thunder to their first second-round playoff appearance in nine years.
Last year, the Daigneault-led squad only finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 40-42 win-loss record. This season, the Thunder made a huge leap after capping off the preliminary round with 57 wins and 25 losses, the first in their division.
The American tactician bested Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic and Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves after the thorough selection process of the NBA committee and the media share vote.
Daigneault’s career with the Thunder first started last 2015 when he served as an assistant coach to Billy Donovan, Oklahoma’s former chief tactician who is now coaching the Chicago Bulls.
After five years of manning the assistant coach post of the Thunder, the franchise decided to put Daigneault as the new head coach after Donovan and the organization parted ways.
The first few years for Daigneault were rough as he failed to put the team in the postseason for three straight years.
With the emergence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder quickly changed their fortunes following the acquisition of several lottery picks in the past two NBA Rookie Draft ceremonies.
Currently, Daigneault and his squad are up 3-0 against the veteran New Orleans Pelicans and are looking to close out the series in four games today as they meet again for Game 4 of their first-round playoff matchup.
