Mark Daigneault, OKC Thunder assistant coaches have rare continuity: 'No ego in the room'

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Mark Daigneault, OKC Thunder assistant coaches have rare continuity: 'No ego in the room'

Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman · The Oklahoman

Fri, Apr 26, 2024 ·

6 min read

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Mark Daigneault is going to win Coach of the Year, but don't overlook his Thunder assistants with whom he'll share the award.

There's Dave Bliss, David Akinyooye and Mike Wilks, all in their fifth seasons as Thunder assistants. Grant Gibbs , a second-year assistant who spent the previous three years as head coach of the OKC Blue. Eric Maynor , a former Thunder point guard in his fifth season with the organization as a coach. And Connor Johnson, an assistant coach for program development in his third season with the team.

The newbie on the Thunder's bench is second-year assistant Chip Engelland , who just happens to be regarded as one of the best shot doctors in the world. Engelland joined the Thunder after 17 years with the Spurs.

Just as the Thunder has grown as a young team, so too has Daigneault and his staff. Daigneault, Bliss, Akinyooye and Wilks — each in their 30s and 40s — are all holdovers from the Billy Donovan regime.

That kind of continuity is rare among NBA staffs. And it can be especially valuable when preparing for a seven-game playoff series. The Thunder leads the Pelicans 2-0 in its first-round series with Game 3 set to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in New Orleans .

"There's no ego in the room," Daigneault said. "That's the first thing I appreciate about our staff. No one's territorial, no one's on the wrong page. Everybody's just trying to find the best solution. There's spirited debate at different times, and that gets you to good solutions and it gets you all faces of an argument.

"But that stuff can get messy sometimes if there's not great trust and communication. Fortunately we have that with our coaches. It's exciting to go through this with them. We've put in a lot of work together, I think we've really walked with our players, I think we've built a lot of trust with our players, and so we're going through this together not only as a coaching staff but as a team."

In contrast to college football coordinators, NBA assistants blend into the background.

Here's a closer look at the Thunder's assistant coaching staff:

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David Akinyooye

Season with Thunder:9th

Hometown:Elmont, New York

College:Adelphi University

Akinyooye (ah-kin-YO-yay), often referred to as "DA," spent four seasons as a Blue assistant before being bumped up to the Thunder's staff.

Akinyooye spent one season as a coach in Lyon, France, and also worked for the Spurs and Knicks before joining the Thunder.

Akinyooye coached the Thunder's 2023 Salt Lake Summer League team.

"Quiet, but super stern, super confident," former Thunder guard Jared Butler said. "I enjoy being around him, and I think he instills confidence in his players."

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Dave Bliss

Season with Thunder:11th

Hometown:Wausau, Wisconsin

College:Georgia

Bliss, the valedictorian of his high school class, was a four-year starting center at Georgia (2004-08). Bliss' Bulldogs won the SEC Tournament championship in 2008.

His first coaching gig was as a graduate assistant at Virginia Commonwealth under Shaka Smart. Thunder general manager Sam Presti met Bliss on a visit to VCU to scout former NBA forward Larry Sanders .

In 2010, the Thunder hired Bliss as a video coordinator/player development coach, a role he held until 2015 before taking a job with the Knicks. After three seasons in New York, Bliss returned to Oklahoma City .

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Chip Engelland

Season with Thunder:2nd

Hometown:Pacific Palisades, California

College:Duke

The Thunder pulled off a coup in prying Engelland away from San Antonio . Presti and Engelland briefly overlapped in their time with the Spurs.

The Thunder shot 38.9% from 3-point range this season, the best mark in team history.

"Chip's unorthodox with how he works, but he's a genius," Thunder guard Josh Giddey said. "He's not trying to completely restructure a jump shot — just little things here and there."

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Grant Gibbs

Season with Thunder:7th

Hometown:Marion, Iowa

College:Creighton

Gibbs played with Doug McDermott at Creighton. That's where Gibbs first met Presti, who was in town to scout McDermott.

Gibbs joined the Thunder after playing pro ball in Germany and the Netherlands.

Gibbs spent two seasons as a Blue assistant and three as Blue head coach. He's in his second season as a Thunder assistant.

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Eric Maynor

Season with Thunder:5th

Hometown:Raeford, North Carolina

College:VCU

Maynor played in 183 games for the Thunder from 2009 to 2013. He was a quality backup point guard who was never the same after tearing the ACL in his right knee in 2012.

This is Maynor's first year as a Thunder assistant. He spent two seasons as a player development coach and two seasons as a Blue assistant.

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Mike Wilks

Season with Thunder:12th

Hometown: Milwaukee

College:Rice

Wilks, as a 5-foot-10 point guard, played for nine teams in seven NBA seasons, the last of which was in 2009-10 with the Thunder.

Wilks worked in the Thunder's front office for seven seasons before joining the coaching staff.

"I think everyone loves Mike Wilks," former Thunder guard Ty Jerome said. "He just has the perfect balance of when to talk to you, when to leave you alone. He's always encouraging people. If you need something, you ask Mike Willks."

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Connor Johnson

Season with Thunder:3rd

Hometown:San Diego

College:Amherst College

While the six names above all have the title of "assistant coach," Johnson is assistant coach for program development.

"He assists with the team's development processes along with program analysis and research," per his bio.

Before joining the Thunder, Johnson spent three seasons as head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers ' G League affiliate.

Johnson's first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Villanova.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has rare continuity with assistants

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