They are the youngest, most inexperienced team in the NBA — and a favorite to win it all
Feb. 27, 2025, 5:01 AM GMT-5
By Rohan Nadkarni
If you’re staying in a hotel room in an NBA city and you hear someone fiddling with your door in the early hours of the morning, don’t be alarmed — it could be Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.
Amid the grind of a long, travel-heavy NBA season, Daigneault says it’s not uncommon for him to sometimes use his key card on the wrong door because of how many different rooms he’s using on a night-to-night basis.
“I was on the 10th floor yesterday and I’m on the 12th floor today,” Daigneault told NBC News at the NBA Cup in December. “The thing that people don’t see is how long the season is. It’s a gauntlet of travel, games, it’s difficult to maintain your energy throughout the course of the season.
“No one would trade it for anything, but it can be a grind. Having people that bring energy to that every single day, that’s what gives everybody oxygen.”
Fortunately for Daigneault, he can breathe easily because he coaches one of the most energetic teams in the entire league.
The Thunder, which entered the season as the youngest and most inexperienced roster in the NBA, have dominated the Association with style for well over half the season. Led by a slew of under-30 stars, Oklahoma City is on pace to finish with a franchise-best 66 wins and the top seed in the Western Conference.
“Everybody enjoys being around each other,” Daigneault said, “and it brings great energy to our operation.”
It’s not only energy — it’s success.
Through 58 games, the Thunder (47-11) boast the second-best record in the league, the NBA’s top defense, an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a chance to win more games in the regular games than Oklahoma City ever did when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were in town.