Mark Daigneault Tabbed as Coach of the Year, Second Time in Franchise History

The NBA has crowned Mark Daigneault as the league's coach of the year marking the second time in franchise a bench boss has taken home the award voted on by writers.

Feb 6, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault looks on / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder made another 15-plus-win leap this season. After rattling off 40 wins last year - jumping from 24 victories in 2021-22 - the OKC Thunder found a way to win 57 games this season en route to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Earlier this month, Mark Daigneault was tabbed as the NBA Coaches Association Coach of the Year honor. On Sunday, he swept the awards taking home the NBA's Coach of the Year award voted on by the media.

This marks the second coach to take home the honor voted on by writers and the third coach to grab a coach of the year honor. Billy Donovan grabbed the Coaches Association honor in 2020, while Scott Brooks was the NBA's choice in 2009-10.

After finishing runner-up in 2022-23, Daigneault won the hardware this season. Despite being pegged for 44.5 wins by Vegas in the preseason, the Thunder became the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history on the 39-year-old's watch.

Daigneault started his tenure with the Oklahoma City organization as the bench boss for the OKC Blue before transitioning onto Donovan's staff in 2019-20. After Donovan departed for Chicago, Sam Presti hired Daigneault for the NBA role.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 4 of their first-round series on Monday. The Thunder will seek a sweep and their first playoff series win since 2016.

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