Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has been named NBA Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season, the league announced Sunday.
Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jamal Mosley of the Orlando Magic were the other finalists. Daigneault won in a landslide, receiving 89 of the 99 possible first-place votes from the media. Mr. Mosley came in second place, securing four first-place votes. Finch received his one first place vote and he received the third highest point total in the vote tally.
Daigneault was also named Coach of the Year by his fellow NBA coaches.
Dynor, 39, was a finalist for the award last year and is in his fourth season with the Thunder, leading the team to a 57-25 record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Thunder had not appeared in the postseason since the 2019-20 season.
The Thunder, who have won at least 55 games for the first time since the 2015-16 season, are 17 games better than last season and led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Rookie of the Year finalist Chet Holmgren.
The improved win total meant the Thunder were just one of four teams in NBA history to increase their win total in consecutive seasons by 16 or more games.
Over four seasons, Daigneault helped turn the Thunder into one of the league's best offenses. During the 2023-24 regular season, he led the NBA in 3-point percentage (38.9%) and was in the top five in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and free throw percentage. He also finished in the top five in offensive rating (118.3), points per game (120.1) and true shooting percentage (60.8).
“Our team's success this season is due to a talented group of players with exceptional dedication and competitiveness,” said Dynor, who was named NBA Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association earlier this month. It was done,” he said. “It's a privilege to coach them.”
