# Mark Daigneault
**Mark Daigneault** (pronounced DAYG-nalt; born 1985 in Leominster, Massachusetts) is an American basketball coach who has been head coach of the [Oklahoma City Thunder](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city-thunder) of the NBA since November 11, 2020, the fourth head coach in the franchise's [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city) history.[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/) • [2](https://okcthunder.com/web-includes/ThunderMediaGuide2021-22.pdf) He won the NBA Coach of the Year Award for 2023-24 and led the Thunder to their first NBA championship in Oklahoma City in 2025, the franchise having previously won the 1979 NBA championship as the [Seattle SuperSonics](https://www.edgepedia.org/seattle-supersonics).[3](https://gleague.nba.com/news/oklahoma-citys-mark-daigneault-named-2023-24-nba-coach-of-the-year) • [4](https://www.nba.com/news/all-time-coaching-leaders-oklahoma-city-thunder) • [13](https://www.nba.com/news/oklahoma-city-thunders-nba-championships)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, Leominster, Massachusetts[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/) |
| Thunder head coach | Hired November 11, 2020; fourth head coach in Thunder history[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/) |
| NBA coaching record | 275-207 regular season (.571); 33-15 in the playoffs (.688)[5](https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/daignma99c.html) |
| Major honors | NBA Coach of the Year (2023-24, Red Auerbach Trophy); NBCA Coach of the Year (2024); five Western Conference Coach of the Month awards[3](https://gleague.nba.com/news/oklahoma-citys-mark-daigneault-named-2023-24-nba-coach-of-the-year) • [6](https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-daigneault-usa-260716) |
| Championship | Led Oklahoma City to its first NBA championship in the franchise's Oklahoma City history, June 2025[4](https://www.nba.com/news/all-time-coaching-leaders-oklahoma-city-thunder) |
| G League record | Oklahoma City Blue head coach 2014-2019, 143-107, with three consecutive division championship appearances (2017, 2018, 2019)[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/) |
| National team | Named an assistant coach for the USA Basketball Men's National Team, July 16, 2026[6](https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-daigneault-usa-260716) |
## Education and early coaching career
Daigneault attended the [University of Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-connecticut), where he received a bachelor's degree in education and worked as a student manager for the Huskies basketball program. As an undergraduate assistant in 2003-04 he observed a team featuring [Emeka Okafor](https://www.edgepedia.org/emeka-okafor), Ben Gordon, and [Charlie Villanueva](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-villanueva) win a national championship. He then earned a master's degree in sports management at the University of Florida while working as a graduate assistant under Billy Donovan, and spent three years as an assistant coach at Holy Cross under Ralph Willard.[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/) • [7](https://www.nba.com/thunder/features/curious-diligent-creative-daigneault-201113)
His first professional role came in 2012-13 with the [New York Knicks](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-knicks) as a coaching workout associate, followed by a one-year stint as an assistant coach with Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket in Lyon, France, before he came to Oklahoma City in 2015.[2](https://okcthunder.com/web-includes/ThunderMediaGuide2021-22.pdf)
## Oklahoma City Blue (2014-2019)
Daigneault was hired as the first head coach of the [Oklahoma City Blue](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city-blue), the Thunder's G League affiliate, after the franchise moved the team from Tulsa. Over five seasons he compiled a 143-107 regular season record and made three consecutive [NBA G League](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-g-league) division championship appearances in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In his initial 2014-15 season he was named G League Coach of the Month twice and had three players called up to NBA rosters, and in 2016-17 he led the team to a franchise-record-tying 34 wins.[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/) • [7](https://www.nba.com/thunder/features/curious-diligent-creative-daigneault-201113) • [2](https://okcthunder.com/web-includes/ThunderMediaGuide2021-22.pdf)
He then spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach on [Billy Donovan](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-donovan)'s Thunder staff, helping the team reach a 44-28 regular season record and an NBA playoff berth.[1](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/)
## Thunder head coach
When general manager [Sam Presti](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-presti) promoted Daigneault to head coach on November 11, 2020, he became the second-youngest head coach in the NBA and the first NBA head coach to have also helmed that organization's G League team.[8](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/heres-mark-daigneault-okc-thunder-152412413.html) • [7](https://www.nba.com/thunder/features/curious-diligent-creative-daigneault-201113) The early seasons were losing ones: Oklahoma City went 22-50 in his first year and 24-58 in his second, a combined 46-108, during a deliberate roster rebuild.[9](https://www.nba.com/news/coach-of-the-year-2023-24)
**The 2023-24 breakthrough.** [The Thunder](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-thunder) improved by 17 wins, from 40-42 in 2022-23 to 57-25, tying for the best record in the Western Conference and earning the No. 1 playoff seed. Oklahoma City became the youngest team, weighted by playing time, to finish with the best or tied-for-best record in its conference since 1970-71. On April 28-29, 2024, Daigneault received the Red Auerbach Trophy as [NBA Coach of the Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-coach-of-the-year), becoming the second Thunder coach to win the honor after [Scott Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-brooks) in 2009-10, and he also won the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award voted by his coaching peers.[3](https://gleague.nba.com/news/oklahoma-citys-mark-daigneault-named-2023-24-nba-coach-of-the-year) • [10](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault-wins-2024-nbca-michael-h-goldberg-coach-of-the-year-award/)
**Championship and sustained success.** In 2024-25 the Thunder won 68 games, the best record in the league, and captured the NBA championship in June 2025, the first title in the franchise's Oklahoma City history.[11](https://www.nba.com/news/coach-qa-with-okcs-mark-daigneault) • [4](https://www.nba.com/news/all-time-coaching-leaders-oklahoma-city-thunder) The following season Oklahoma City again posted the NBA's best record, 64-18, marking the second consecutive season with the league's top record and a third straight No. 1 seed in the Western Conference; the team led the league in both defensive rating (106.5) and net rating (11.1).[6](https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-daigneault-usa-260716) Through the 2025-26 season his career NBA record stood at 275-207 in the regular season and 33-15 in the playoffs.[5](https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/daignma99c.html)
## Coaching approach
Daigneault's rise through the G League shaped a player-development orientation. He has described his method as connecting with each player as a person first, and as a Blue coach he introduced team practices centered on gratitude and a "be where your feet are" emphasis on staying present. Presti, who hired him, characterized him as a "curious learner, diligent worker and creative thinker."[7](https://www.nba.com/thunder/features/curious-diligent-creative-daigneault-201113) Under his leadership Oklahoma City became the youngest team to finish first in either conference in 2023-24, and his teams have been noted for defensive performance and in-game adjustment.[12](https://api-hub.nba.com/awards/2024)
In July 2026, USA Basketball named him an assistant coach on the Men's National Team staff, adding to a USA Basketball history that includes service as a video coordinator with the gold-medal-winning 2013 U19 and 2014 U18 national teams.[6](https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-daigneault-usa-260716)
## References
1. [Mark Daigneault Bio, NBA Coaches Association](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault/)
2. [Mark Daigneault, 2021-22 Thunder Media Guide](https://okcthunder.com/web-includes/ThunderMediaGuide2021-22.pdf)
3. [Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault Named 2023-24 NBA Coach Of The Year, NBA G League](https://gleague.nba.com/news/oklahoma-citys-mark-daigneault-named-2023-24-nba-coach-of-the-year)
4. [All-time coaching leaders: Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/all-time-coaching-leaders-oklahoma-city-thunder)
5. [Mark Daigneault: Coaching Record, Awards, Basketball-Reference](https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/daignma99c.html)
6. [Mark Daigneault Named USA Basketball Assistant Coach, Oklahoma City Thunder](https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-daigneault-usa-260716)
7. ['Curious Learner, Diligent Worker, Creative Thinker' Mark Daigneault is the Thunder's New Head Coach, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/thunder/features/curious-diligent-creative-daigneault-201113)
8. [Here's what Mark Daigneault, OKC Thunder players said during 2025-26 exit interviews, Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/heres-mark-daigneault-okc-thunder-152412413.html)
9. [Thunder's Mark Daigneault named 2023-24 Coach of the Year, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/coach-of-the-year-2023-24)
10. [Mark Daigneault Wins 2024 Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award, NBA Coaches Association](https://nbacoaches.com/mark-daigneault-wins-2024-nbca-michael-h-goldberg-coach-of-the-year-award/)
11. [Coach Q&A with OKC's Mark Daigneault, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/coach-qa-with-okcs-mark-daigneault)
12. [2023-24 NBA Awards, NBA.com](https://api-hub.nba.com/awards/2024)
13. [Oklahoma City Thunder's NBA Championships, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/oklahoma-city-thunders-nba-championships)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › NBA head coaches*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license