OKC Thunder bench boss gets praised by Bucks head man

The OKC Thunder overachieved last year by everyone’s preseason expectations. A 16-win improvement brought their record to 40-41 and netted the Thunder a trip to the NBA Play-In Tournament.

In the postseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder stole a game on the road in New Orleans but fell a game shy of the NBA playoffs when they went to Minnesota and lost to the Timberwolves.

OKC Thunder bench boss Mark Daigneault earned high praise from Bucks head coach, former Thunder assistant coach Adrian Griffin

Mark Daigneault has been with the OKC Thunder organization for a long time. Starting as the head coach of the organization’s G-League affiliate, the OKC Blue, before moving on to Billy Donovan’s coaching staff at the NBA level. Daigneault’s ties to Donovan run deep, dating back to Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators tenure.

Following the 2019-20 season, the OKC Thunder and Billy Donovan elected to part ways. Donovan headed out to the Windy City to coach the Bulls, and the Thunder were left searching for a new direction.

On top of needing a new coach, the OKC Thunder were also hurling toward a rebuild after a surprisingly successful season that ended in a hard-fought playoff series less in seven games to the Houston Rockets.

A strenuous coaching search led to the Thunder landing on an in-house replacement, Mark Daigneault, who many around the NBA assumed was a sitting duck. Just there to bridge the gap of this rebuild, and once the team was in position to win, he would be swiftly ousted.

However, it became clear that Mark Daigneault could truly get the job done with the way he motivated his players and maximized the talent on those early-season rosters.

Heading into year four, Mark Daigneault is now thought of as one of the best coaches in the NBA, even finishing running up in the Coach of the Year award a season ago. He is not only turning heads in the media and from fans but the coaching fraternity as well.

New Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Adrian Griffin tabbed the OKC Thunder bench boss as an “Extraordinary” head coach. He later mentioned that the Thunder are among the most prepared teams in the NBA each night.

Among that praise, Griffin told a story of his time as a Thunder assistant on Billy Donovan’s coaching staff, back when Mark Daigneault was with the OKC Blue. When Daigneault would sit in on OKC Thunder staff meetings, he left a lasting positive impression on Griffin.