Which Thunder player benefits the most from Chip Engelland being hired?
By Rylan Stiles
The Oklahoma City Thunder continued their fantastic 2022 NBA Offseason with another key transaction. The OKC Thunder have hired long-time San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Chip Engelland. For the past 17 seasons, Engelland has served as the Spurs’ shooting coach and is regarded as the best in the business. The Spurs credit him with the improved shooting of stars like Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Dejonte Murray. Even recently the Spurs credited Engelland with Keldon Johnson’s shooting strides.
OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti worked with Chip Engelland during his time in San Antonio before taking over as GM for the Thunder franchise. The organization now goes and hires away one of the top-paid assistant coaches in the league. This shows a tangible investment into player development and financial backing of Presti’s long-term rebuild plan from OKC owner Clay Bennett.
As Engelland is set to join Mark Daigneault’s coaching staff, the Oklahoma City Thunder have many players on their current roster that project to improve under his leadership. The Thunder are also putting together a great coaching staff around Mark Daigneault who, despite the team’s record, has past his first few seasons in Bricktown with flying colors. The Thunder bench now includes the league’s best shooting coach and one of the best young defensive minds in the game, Kameron Woods.
Who can benefit the most from Chip Engelland joining the OKC Thunder coaching staff?
The Oklahoma City Thunder have always struggled with one key area of development, shooting. Thinking back on all those great teams in Thunder history and their shortcomings were often attributed to their shooting woes. The organization is hopeful this coaching change will lead to different results in the next era of Thunder basketball.