What a mess—OKC Thunder leads the odds for Coach of the Year, but they do not have a head coach award.

What a mess—OKC Thunder leads the odds for Coach of the Year, but they do not have a head coach award.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are increasingly demonstrating why they ought to be taken more seriously as postseason contenders. It is quite difficult for other teams to stop the offensive style that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren bring.

Even so, there are a lot of impact players in addition to the three stars who contribute to the system that Mark Daigneault has developed since taking over as head coach of the squad in 2020.

With a record of 21-9 on the season and a top-2 ranking in the Western Conference, the Thunder are quickly establishing themselves as a team that fans will be paying much closer attention to come playoff time. The club is winning games against teams near the top of the league in addition to handling weaker teams, as is right and contributes to the team’s win total.

Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault is garnering more recognition as a result of this. At +150 odds, he currently has the best chance of winning the prize, according to ESPN BET. Only one season prior, Daigneault came in second in the Coach of the Year poll.

Daigneault guided the Thunder to a 16-win surge in the previous campaign, which saw them finish 40–42. He is led the squad to its best pre-New Year’s start since 2016 this time around.

Daigneault has a 107-159 career record as a head coach. He took over for Billy Donovan in the 2020–21 season. It is difficult to believe Daigneault does not turn in a winning record with his career win percentage given the course of the previous two seasons.

It is difficult to see the Thunder failing as a team since they have one of the youngest squads in the league; in fact, Daigneault would probably earn Coach of the Year if the Thunder finished in the top three in the conference.