Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was named NBA Coach of the Year in a landslide award Sunday after leading the youngest team in league history to the No. 1 seed in either conference. .
Daigneault, 39, was a student manager for the university's basketball team and led the organization to its first playoff appearance since 2020 in his fourth season with the Thunder. This means, yes, he led a team that missed the playoffs last year to the top team in the West.
“I've been using the word 'unusual' all year for this team, and the reason I think they're so unusual is their incredible ambition, their commitment to their individual careers, their individual He works incredibly hard,” Denault said on TNT's Inside the NBA after the game. The award has been announced. “But they really appreciate each other's successes, and they root for each other, and they root for each other. We've been through everything together all year, up and down. , it doesn't matter. We compete together as a team. That's why they're such an honor to coach.”
According to Elias Sports, Dynow is the 13th coach under the age of 40 to win the award, and only two coaches since 1963 (Phil・Jackson and Larry Bird (3 years) are the only ones. award.
Entering the season as the second-youngest team in the league (average age of players: 24), the Thunder held a commanding 3-0 series lead against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the Western Conference. There is.
The NBA's top coach, like other awards announced by the league this month, was determined by a committee of 99 media members who regularly cover the league. For the first time, voters won't be able to cast their votes until the end of the season, which may have worked in Denault's favor in this case. The number one spot in the West Division was determined on the final day of the regular season, with the Thunder winning the game and setting up a tiebreaker with the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Daigneault defeated finalists Jamal Mosley (Orlando Magic) and Chris Finch (Minnesota Timberwolves) to become the top coach in the league, but he fell just short. Daigneault received his 89 first place votes. Mr. Mosley received four first-place votes and came in second place.
The Thunder improved their record by 17 games under Denault from last season to this season, becoming one of only four teams in league history to increase their number of wins by at least 16 games per year and becoming the youngest team in league history to win a championship. It became. At least 55 games (they won 57).
Oklahoma City has MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and leads the NBA in 3-point percentage, which is critical in an era when the best teams typically attack from deep.
Daigneault was also named the league's top coach by the National Basketball Coaches Association, an award determined by the NBA's 30 head coaches. He served as Oklahoma City's G League coach from 2014 to 2019, then spent one season on Billy Donovan's bench — the last time the Thunder reached the postseason as a participant in the NBA bubble at Disney World. It's time.
Free daily sports updates delivered straight to your inbox.sign up
Free daily sports updates delivered straight to your inbox.sign up
buy
Mr. Daigneault replaced Mr. Donovan and was tasked with steering the organization's restructuring. In just four seasons, he helped turn the Thunder into legitimate title contenders.
“I learned from great people,” Daigneault said. “One thing I can say is that I have been given great responsibilities and opportunities in life, maybe in projection or before I actually get it. It gave me an opportunity. And I tried to live up to that with my players, my assistant coaches, the people I work with. Give people opportunities, give them confidence. And our players. They respond to that. I get them into the game and they go play.”
Mosley moved the Magic's rebuild ahead of schedule, leading them to a fifth-place finish in the East at a time when few expected Orlando to be anything more than a play-in team at best. The Magic defeated the Cavs by 61 points in the remaining two games of their playoff series, and are currently tied at 2 wins and 2 losses.
Finch led the Timberwolves (tied with OKC and Denver entering the final day) to the second-most wins in team history, beating the league's highest-rated defense. The Timberwolves entered Sunday's game coming off a 3-0 win over Phoenix in the first round of the series.
Must read
(Photo: Alonzo Adams/USA Today)
