Mark Daigneault on Media Day 2025 with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
From a 46-108 record in his first two seasons as Oklahoma City’s head coach, including 58 losses just three years ago, to 68 victories, the No. 1 seed and the NBA championship in June, Mark Daigneault has led the Thunder to a slow-turned-rapid rise.
His team begins the 2025-26 season as arguably the league’s favorite, with reigning Kia Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back, along with rising stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, and one of the NBA’s deepest rosters. The Thunder also will be trying to do what no champion has managed since Golden State in 2018 – defend its crown.
Daigneault spoke with NBA.com at the National Basketball Coaches Association last month in Chicago about his team’s rare position:
NBA.com: This had to be a different offseason from any you ever experienced.
Mark Daigneault: Yeah. New challenge. It’s a different territory for our staff and our players. We did the best we could in getting the right amount of rest and rejuvenation, but also understanding the ramp-up into the following season is so necessary. It cut out a lot of time in the middle.
We’ll learn from it if we’re ever fortunate enough to be in this situation again. But this year we did the best we could, and it was a matter of getting back to base camp of the mountain and getting ready to go again.
It has to be better than filling all that time from late April to training camp, the timeline for the least successful teams.
Good problems. And we’ve been one of those teams.
What did you consciously dial back this summer?
We made each decision on a case-by-case basis. Jalen Williams had offseason surgery (wrist), so his offseason looked significantly different from the others. Every player is different, the point is. Guys who didn’t play a lot in the playoffs, like Ajay Mitchell and [Nikola] Topić, had a lot different offseasons than the guys who played heavy minutes. [Williams’ recovery will cause him to miss the Thunder’s opener Tuesday against Houston.]
Coaches Corner - Season Preview: Mark Daigneault
Reigning NBA champion coach Mark Daigneault talks to ESPN analyst Tim Legler to discuss winning title and his coaching arc.
Being a younger team, you would seem better able to withstand a quicker turnaround.
Yeah, and they love playing basketball. They didn’t want to be out of the gym for very long. So, a lot of our stuff was trying to educate them on how much time to take off, not about how fast to ramp it up.
Did you learn anything about your team in the playoffs, even after spending seven months together and winning 68 games?
I didn’t underestimate our team. I knew we had a great competitive spirit. But we played a lot of challenging and consequential games. In terms of being down 2-1 in two separate series, being down 1-0 in two series. We lost a game by 40 in the Minnesota series. We played two Game 7s. We played two Game 5s when we were tied 2-2. I had a lot of confidence in the team in any situation, but to see them rise the way they did to the competitive challenges and do so together means wisdom and confidence that we can carry over, even if the actual results don’t carry over.
That sounds like great armor for heading into a new season. You might find yourselves with a steamroll opportunity this year.
The experience gives you confidence; it gives you wisdom. The confidence comes from accomplishing things and the wisdom comes from succeeding but also the lessons from adversity and losing. But it’s meaningless unless you apply it forward.
You have a such a deep roster. Do you still plan to use so many guys?
First of all, we have a lot of confidence in everybody on our roster. And in the modern NBA, with the condensed nature of the NBA schedule, the addition of the NBA Cup, the length of the playoffs and then the pace of play, you’re having to play faster than ever before and you’re having to cover more of the floor offensively and defensively.
So developing depth and relying on depth is something we’ve leaned into, and think is essential at this point.
The Thunder demonstrated such great chemistry all year. It almost suggests that, even as competitive as your players are, they don’t resent the man who’s in front of them.
We always call our team ‘uncommon.’ We’ve shown an uncommon willingness to compete every night and an uncommon willingness to play inside the team. I think that’s the reason the whole has been better than the sum of the parts so far.
The Western Conference looks brutal, as far as improved and formidable contenders. What do you anticipate as you go from a hunter to the hunted?
I know I respect 29 competitive teams. You never look at your schedule and say, ‘This is an easy one.’ You look at it and say, ‘Geez, this is a bear.’ Each team has an equal opportunity to rise to the challenges and that’s our challenge now.
SGA won the MVP and the scoring title. Jalen took a major leap last season. Chet by all reports worked harder and is stronger than ever. But your team’s superpower might be this: 15 players back from the championship squad. There is no greater continuity than that.
Wonderful, which is a luxury in the modern NBA, when you look at the parity in the league and how fast things change roster-wise. When you’re able to keep together a group you believe in, that’s a great thing.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
