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Justin Martinez: Mark Daigneault on where the team is at right now: “It reframes the challenge to a degree. The challenge that we had, however long ago it was, is different than the challenge that we have now. What we lean on is the same. We have a great environment of guys who are competitive. They play together, they’re professional and they work hard. That’s the stuff we always lean back on. It’s the stuff we’ve leaned back on during a lot of success around us, and that’s the stuff we’ve leaned back on during a lot of adversity to help us through that. It’s not the first adversity we’ve faced as a group. That’s how we’ve worked ourselves through that. That’s how we’ve strengthened through those experiences in the past, and that’s our challenge now. But we’re not asking for sympathy. We’re not going to make excuses. We’re going to accept the circumstances as they are and reframe the challenge but lean back on all of the same things that we’ve always leaned on.”
Justin Martinez: Asked Mark Daigneault about the announcement of Russell Westbrook’s jersey retirement: “I said this after he retired, but certainly a hat tip to him for an unbelievable career, and there’s nothing more fitting than for his number to be retired in Oklahoma City. He’s just such a trailblazing player for the organization, and it was as much his ethos as it was his performance on the court. That’ll be a special night. He’s obviously a special player. He has a special connection to the community, even to this day. And it’ll be special for our team to recognize that. That’s from a different timeframe than most of us had been a part of, but to recognize your history and to have that kind of come to life inside of your season can bring a lot of energy. So we’re really looking forward to that. And again, congratulations to him on his career. I’m glad it’s being recognized the way that it is.”
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault On the team's reaction to the injury: “Those are tough, man. We’re not doing great. That’s tough on the guys. Everyone empathizes, I think both teams, in those situations. We’re not doing great." On the support from fans inside Paycom Center: “No matter what, I think anybody in the arena can empathize with that. We appreciate our fans for doing so. We appreciate the Clippers for doing so.” How the team will process Williams’ injury: “I think it starts with just getting everybody and regrouping in a situation like that, especially when it’s ugly like that, which is what we’ll focus on first before we move on to anything else. We’ll come in tomorrow, we’ll get everybody together and we’ll have more information for the team at that time. I know they’ll be hungry to know how he’s doing and stuff like that, and then we’ll move from there. But, at this point, you’ve just got to allow yourself to feel the way you do.”
Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his first game with fewer than 20 points in nearly two years, finishing with 17 in Thursday night's 96-84 home win over the Denver Nuggets to snap his NBA-record streak of 20-point games. Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points in a convincing win over San Antonio on Tuesday night, shot just 6 of 19 from the field against Denver in failing to reach 20 points for the first time since Oct. 30, 2024, a streak of 141 regular-season games. He had just under two minutes left to score three more points and extend his streak, but with Oklahoma City up 93-76 with 1:43 left, he asked Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to sub him out.
Daigneault said he wanted to leave Gilgeous-Alexander in the game because a "historic streak" was on the line and praised his star player's maturity. "I just think of the class that it shows and the perspective that it shows for him to say, 'Hey, I'm out now. The game's calling for me to be subbed out,'" Daigneault said. "That was his substitution. And of all the things that I admire about him, that's toward the top of the list in terms of moments that I appreciate about him."
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Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on DeMar DeRozan: “He flips the analytics on its head.”
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on Aday Mara’s first 2 games being against Wembanyama and Jokic: “You can't replace experience. You can't rush that. He’s in his second NBA game tonight. Like the other night, he's high-impact. He'll do some good things tonight. He'll have some things he can learn from.”
That growth mindset is an essential element of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's character, which Presti valued as much as his talent. Presti wanted to invest in Gilgeous-Alexander in large part because of "gifts that amplify or make his athletic abilities that much more transcendent," citing intelligence and emotional awareness of others in the organization and community. "Shai puts the wind at everybody's back with the way he operates," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "There's literally no facet, no corner of the building that he doesn't put in a position of strength because of the way that he operates as a superstar player. He can act however he wants to act, as we've seen in the NBA and other sports, and he chooses to act with unbelievable humility and character. It puts everybody in a position of strength, including Sam. With Sam, obviously that's a two-way relationship."
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on SGA’s partnership with Sam Presti: “He chooses to act with unbelievable humility and character. It puts everybody in a position of strength, including Sam. And Sam, obviously, that's a two-way relationship. Sam does a great job with Shai as well.”
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on any Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams limitations after no preseason. “We’ll see. They’re both definitely healthy and ready to go.”
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Justin Martinez: Mark Daigneault on the availability of Chet Holmgren, who did not play this preseason due to a quad contusion: “Everybody did something in practice today to varying degrees based on individual situations. But in terms of availability for any player, I’ll leave that to the injury report. We’ll report at 5 p.m. on the day before the first game.”
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on Aday Mara shooting 13-of-17 on free throws in preseason: “That's something that we're working on with him… We're trying to help him build a skillset that can sustain over the course of a long career.”
Justin Martinez: Asked Mark Daigneault about Tyrese Haliburton’s playoff run two years ago and his return from a torn Achilles: “It’s hard to think back on that series without thinking back to the whole run. That run that they had in the playoffs was incredible. They were a four seed and really got on a heater in the playoffs, and he was driving that both with his individual offense and what he does to activate his teammates. With the advance passing and the early passing, he puts everybody at advantages. He’s a great player, and I’m certainly happy to see him back.”
Justin Martinez: Mark Daigneault on the impact Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins had on OKC: “It’s a point of pride because it’s about as mutually beneficial of a situation as you can find. They were guys who came from the back of the draft. They came from two-way contracts. They came all the way through to prominent rotational positions on highly-successful teams. It’s positioned them to make generational money and play in the NBA for 10-plus years, which both of them will. And for us, they had huge contributions to the identity, the establishment of our program and the way that we operate. And then they had a lot of on-court success. They weren’t just these culture guys. They were really, really impactful players for us. When you step back and look at it, for the program to benefit as much as we did from them and for them to benefit as much as they did from our program, that’s how you draw it up.”