OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault lays out plan for Chip Engelland

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s biggest acquisition this offseason might have been on the coach’s bench, as the OKC Thunder lured away long-time San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Chip Engelland.

Regarded as one of the best shooting coaches in the League, Engelland was quite the grab for Oklahoma City who ended last season as the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA. One of their marquee players, Josh Giddey, has to improve his shooting throughout his young career to take his game to the next level. This addition helped everyone on the roster as he joins Mark Daigneault’s staff.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault announced that Chip Engelland will not be at every game during the 2022-23 season, touching on his role with the organization

The OKC Thunder have added a lot to their coaching staff this preseason, shuffling OKC Blue coach Grant Gibbs coming down to the NBA bench, and Kameron Woods being elevated to the new Blue head man along with the Engelland addition the staff looks to be one of the best developmental groups in the sport.

Chip Engelland helped overhaul Kawhi Lennoard, Keldon Johnson, Dejonte Murray, and Tony Parker’s jump shots credited with allowing them to become better shooters. Each team he has been on staff for has improved its shooting ability throughout his tenure.

Head coach Mark Daigneault mentioned that Engelland “will not be at every game” calling the shooting coaches role “unique.”

Mark Daigneault “Sam [Presti] worked with him [In San Antonio]…Sam [Presti] and I sat down with [Chip Engelland] as soon as he left San Antonio and that was the first time I met him…As I started to work with him, he has a pretty special set of intangibles as a person. We think he will be impactful.”

Daigneault went on to say Chip Engelland will be with the team “a good amount” early on this season. When wrapping up his answers about the coaching staff he mentioned the swap of Grant Gibbs and Kameron Woods’s roles was simply to get Woods some head coaching experience and Gibbs some NBA experience.

As pure speculation, one reason Chip Engelland might not be at every game is at 61 years old, maybe his passion is just in player development and training while balancing family life rather than the game-to-game operation.

Either way, Engelland will still play a massive role in the development of the OKC Thunder, and second-year guard Josh Giddey is already excited to work with him.