Thunder sign HC to contract extension

Oklahoma City didn’t provide any specific details on how long the new agreement will keep Daigneault under contract, simply referring to it as a “multiyear” deal.

Daigneault, 38, played for Billy Donovan at Florida and then joined him as an assistant on the Gators staff from 2010-14 before making the move to OKC. He was the head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue – the Thunder’s G League affiliate – for several seasons while also serving as an assistant under Donovan with the NBA club in 2016 and again in 2019/20.

Following Donovan’s exit in 2020, the Thunder promoted Daigneault to head coach. While his 86-150 (.364) record across three seasons doesn’t look great on paper, the rebuilding club has shown real signs of progress under Daigneault, particularly in 2022-23 — OKC went 40-42 during the regular season and won a play-in game in New Orleans before losing out on the No. 8 seed by dropping a second play-in contest in Minnesota.

Daigneault, who was the runner-up to Mike Brown in Coach of the Year voting this spring, will be tasked going forward with turning an ascendant team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren into a contender.