Daigneault is NBA Coach of the Year
NEW YORK: Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was named the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year, the league announced on Sunday (Monday in Manila).
Daigneault, in his fourth season as the Thunder’s head coach, received the award for the first time, becoming the second Oklahoma City coach to win the honor after Scott Brooks in 2010.
The 39-year-old American guided the Thunder to a 57-25 regular-season record and the top seeding in the Western Conference for the NBA playoffs.
The Thunder became the youngest team, as measured by NBA playing time, to finish with the top record in a conference since the 1970-71 season, the NBA’s first with Eastern and Western Conferences.
Oklahoma City improved by 17 wins from the 40-42 record of the 2022-23 campaign and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
The Thunder have not won a playoff series since 2016 but as of Sunday they had a commanding 3-0 lead over the New Orleans Pelicans in their best-of-seven first-round series.