Inside The Thunder

Mark Daigneault Discusses Campaigning for OKC Thunder Superstar MVP Case

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the heat of the MVP race, and head coach Mark Daigneault has discussed his style of campaigning for his superstar to win the award.

Rylan Stiles

Nov 13, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and head coach Mark Daigneault talk during a time out against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Nov 13, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and head coach Mark Daigneault talk during a time out against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
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The NBA MVP race is heating up and the Thunder have superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the thick of the debate with only him and Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic in contention for the hardware.

This week, those two faced off in a back-to-back set that was billed as an MVP bout. Denver's bench boss Michael Malone took the time to advocate for his superstar to stake claim to his fourth MVP award, while Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault kept the attention on the game between the two teams.

“I’m more focused on our team, and that’s a directive of Shai. Shai wants to focus on team success. All the interactions I have with him are about the team. I am very impressed with Shai's ability to compartmentalize that. He would be honored to win the MVP, but when he steps in between the lines with our team, he is only focused on our team," Daigneault said. “Those are two great ambassadors for the game. Jokic is a great guy, a great team guy. Shai, I can’t say enough about as a person and a team guy. I think it reflects well on the NBA that those are the two everyone’s talking about.”

That has been Gilgeous-Alexander's approach as well, he has consistently said that the only thing that matters is winning compared to individual awards and his bench boss is taking that same approach.

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Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network. 

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