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Thunder's Mark Daigneault finishes second to Kings' Mike Brown for NBA Coach of the Year
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- Thunder's Mark Daigneault finishes second to Kings' Mike Brown for NBA Coach of the Year
Last year, some guy named Mike Daigneault was among the 30 coaches on the NBA awards ballot for Coach of the Year.
Credit the league and the accounting firm that oversees the voting for spelling Daigneault correctly, but it's Mark, not Mike, who coaches the Thunder.
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And it was Mark Daigneault , one year removed from ultimate anonymity, who finished second in 2023 NBA Coach of the Year voting, announced Wednesday by the NBA.
Sacramento 's Mike Brown became the first unanimous winner of the award for leading the Kings, a perennial laughing stock, back to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed.
Daigneault was a deserving second choice for guiding the Thunder to a 40-42 record, which included a play-in appearance to cap off the surprise season in Oklahoma City .
Daigneault received votes from 68 of the 100 voters, who had to order their choices one through three. Daigneault received 48 second-place votes. Boston 's Joe Mazzulla, who finished third, received 18 second-place votes.
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Mark Daigneault was a deserving second choice for guiding the Thunder to a 40-42 record.
Entering the season, the Thunder's over/under for wins was 23.5. No team exceeded expectations to a greater degree than did the Thunder.
Daigneault, with his even keel, every-man personality and Xs and Os acumen, was a big reason why.
"If I could build a coach, it's Mark," Thunder guard Josh Giddey said in his exit interview.
The relationships Daigneault builds with his players, Giddey said, gives more weight to Daigneault's words.
"He's great with me in that sense," Giddey said. "From day one I've loved playing for him, and looking forward to next year and many years after that."
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The rebuilding Thunder won 22 and 24 games in Daigneault's first two seasons as head coach , but even then it was apparent the Thunder had an exciting young core with the right coach to lead it.
Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , who played for Doc Rivers and Billy Donovan in his first two NBA seasons, was asked in his exit interview what he learned about Daigneault this season.
"I didn't learn nothing," SGA said. "I knew what type of coach he was his first year here. He has a core belief system, and I 100% agree with it.
"I think he's one heck of a coach. He's on his way."
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2023 NBA Coach of the Year Voting
Selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters from the United States and Canada. Voting is on a 5-3-1 basis (x-interim).
| Coach |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Brown, Sac |
100 |
0 |
0 |
500 |
| Mark Daigneault, Okc |
0 |
48 |
20 |
164 |
| Joe Mazzulla, Bos |
0 |
18 |
23 |
77 |
| J.B. Bickerstaff, Cle |
0 |
13 |
13 |
52 |
| Michael Malone, Den |
0 |
7 |
9 |
30 |
| Mike Budenholzer, Mil |
0 |
5 |
12 |
27 |
| Jacque Vaughn, Bkn |
0 |
3 |
7 |
16 |
| Tom Thibodeau, N.Y. |
0 |
3 |
7 |
16 |
| Will Hardy, Utah |
0 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
| Taylor Jenkins, Mem |
0 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
| Darvin Ham, LAL |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Doc Rivers, Phil |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Willie Green, N.O. |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Tyronn Lue, LAC |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder's Mark Daigneault finishes second for NBA Coach of the Year
