NBA News: Coach of the Year Named

It was an honor that was certainly well-earned. A stunning rise to the top spot in the Western Conference has won Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault the National Basketball Coaches Association's NBA Coach of the Year award.

ESPN Sources: The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault has been voted the National Basketball Coaches Association's NBA coach of the year. Voting is among the league’s 30 head coaches. pic.twitter.com/77LRg8mduG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 15, 2024

The Thunder shocked the NBA world by winning the Western Conference top seed this season, and were the youngest team in modern league history to accomplish that feat with an average age of just 24 years old.

Daigneault led his young charges to a 17-game improvement on last season, finishing with a 57–25 record, good for top spot in the West over the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

The 39-year-old head coach has markedly increased his team's victory totals in each of the last three seasons -- going from 24 to 40 to 57.

The Thunder were one of only two teams (along with the Boston Celtics) to rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency this season. They also led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage, and have a serious contender for league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Cleveland's J.B. Bickerstaff, Minnesota's Chris Finch, Boston's Joe Mazzulla and Orlando's Jamahl Mosley also received votes in the balloting.