Mark Daigneault, Thunder Agree to Multiyear Contract Extension After Play-In Berth

After leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the play-in tournament last season, head coach Mark Daigneault has been rewarded with a new contract.

The Thunder announced Wednesday that they signed Daigneault to a multiyear extension.

Daigneault has been a coach in the Thunder organization since August 2014 when he was hired as head coach of their G League affiliate. He had a brief stint as an assistant with the NBA team during the 2015-16 season.

After five seasons with the Oklahoma City Blue, Daigneault joined the Thunder's coaching staff on a permanent basis as an assistant to head coach Billy Donovan prior to the 2019-20 campaign.

Donovan and the Thunder mutually parted ways in in September 2020. Daigneault was promoted to head coach two months later. It was a natural fit given his experience in player development as a G League, and the Thunder entering a rebuild by trading veterans like Chris Paul, Steven Adams, Dennis Schröder and Danilo Gallinari.

The Thunder went a combined 46-108 in Daigneault's first two seasons. They made huge strides in 2022-23 with a 40-42 record, a 16-win improvement from the previous season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the All-NBA first team after set career-highs in scoring (31.4 points per game) and field-goal percentage (51.0) in 68 starts.

Oklahoma City made the play-in tournament as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference and defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game before losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves to determine the No. 8 seed.

Daigneault finished second to Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings in 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year voting.