5 reasons the Thunder will win the 2024 NBA Championship
2. Coaching
When talking about NBA coaches, the names Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra jump out at people, but many coaches outside of them are underappreciated.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is one of those guys.
Since taking the helm at the start of the 2020-2021 NBA season, Daigneault has been nothing short of spectacular. In just three seasons as a head coach, he completely turned a rebuilding Thunder team around and was named a Coach of the Year finalist in 2023.
Players credit him as being very open minded and supportive of them. Thunder wing Jalen Williams had nothing but praise for his headman during a 2023 interview, saying: “He’s definitely a player’s coach for sure. I’ve loved it. I think just how open he is with me and kind of where he sees me I think is genuine. That’s not something that every coach has.”
“The more and collected he is obviously we feed off that whether we’re consciously paying attention to it or not. I thought he’s done a good job of that all year”
— The Daniel Bell© (@BasketballGuruD) April 14, 2023
- Jalen Williams on the team’s poise coming from Mark Daigneault pic.twitter.com/oeVnRv4As2
When you have a coach who makes players want to go out there and win each game for them, you know you’ve got the right guy.
While head coaches take up the majority of the limelight, it takes a village for success in the NBA. In 2022, the Thunder signed Chip Engelland as their new shooting coach. He worked with the Spurs during their two title runs in 2007 and 2014 and is regarded around the league as one of the best there is.
His impact has been felt as OKC currently have the best three point percentage in the NBA. The coaches in Oklahoma City are more than capable of mentoring these young players to the top.