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After the series concluded, several people were asked about Holmgren’s production. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault made it very clear that OKC is better with Holmgren. “Every minute Chet Holmgren’s been on the team, we’ve been the 1 seed in the Western Conference,” Daigneault said Sunday, when the team gathered for end-of-season meetings. “And it wasn’t the case before Chet was healthy.” During their exit press conferences Sunday, Holmgren met with the media to assess his season. Of course, he was asked about his performance and struggles during the series. Holmgren felt he was not as aggressive as he normally is.
Justin Martinez: Mark Daigneault on the opportunity for Jalen Williams to get healthy this summer: "I'm excited about a healthy Jalen Williams. I'm excited about a healthy team and what that can look like moving forward. So that becomes the priority, especially with him. It was a tough year for him, and we need to do everything we can to get him in full form, and he does too. I give the big guy a ton of credit. He played the entire playoff run last year with a ligament tear in his wrist that no one knew about. The minute we lost the game, the sky falls on a guy like that. He didn't make one excuse, helped us win a championship. Came back this year, had the surgery, didn't start the season and then had the hamstring stuff. He's had a very, very tough calendar year. But he stayed inside the team and stayed competitive. And we've got his back as we move through this and gets back to 100 percent."
Anthony Slater: Chet Holmgren only took three total 3s the last four games of the Spurs series. His 3-point volume has been decreasing. Mark Daigneault said it's a "priority" to correct that. But "Every minute Chet Holmgren has been on the team we've been the 1-seed in the Western Conference."
Joel Lorenzi: Mark Daigneault on Jalen Williams’ injury-related absences this season and the importance of his summer “Missing him impacts your ceiling. Missing Ajay Mitchell impacts your ceiling. But we've been able to maintain a really high floor. I'm proud of that. That's a huge accomplishment for the season, and it will pay dividends moving forward and will pay dividends for us this year. “I'm excited about a healthy Jalen Williams. I'm excited about a healthy team and what that can look like moving forward. So that becomes the priority especially with him. It was a tough year for him, and we need to do everything we can to get him in full form, and he does too.”
"He was a huge [contributor] in ways that may not be in the box score or visible," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "We didn't get outscored by much when he was on the court. I can take some responsibility for [Holmgren's lack of shot attempts], but I still think he played a big-time game in some areas." After making 37 of 38 shots in the restricted area in the first two rounds, Holmgren appeared hesitant to finish in the paint against the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. "I'd say they're a unique team in terms of personnel, what their personnel do," said Holmgren, who averaged 10.7 points per game in the West finals, down from 18.6 in the first two rounds as the Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns and Lakers. "I don't think there's another team that has the same kind of play style, I guess."
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Joel Lorenzi: Mark Daigneault says Jalen Williams didn’t suffer any setback in Game 6, but acknowledges that he didn’t undergo the normal return-to-play procedure leading into his return. Says “all the stakeholders” huddled before the game before he gave it a go, and did the same afterward. Says Williams actually felt good after Game 6 relative to his recovery. Notes that if OKC should advance, he’ll continue his rehab and they’ll move forward with the same process.
Joel Lorenzi: Mark Daigneault on Jalen Williams: "He’s been hellbent on trying to get himself to this point. I give him credit. He’s a big team guy, big competitor. He’s obviously not 100%. He didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what to expect. So it was a matter of getting him out there in an insulated role and see what he could bring to the team. … He hasn’t done a full return to play the way that he would.”
Law Murray: This will be the first conference finals Game 7 since 2023 Heat at Boston, and the first WCF Game 7 since 2018 Warriors at Houston. The road team has won the last four conference finals Game 7s. Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost all three Game 6s under Mark Daigneault.
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on OKC’s offense: “I thought what our approach did in Game 5 was it gave us a margin for error to be a little bit sloppy, and we were. That’s not the plan. We’d like to be clean, but we'd much rather approach the game like that.”
Mark Daigneault on OKC’s offense: “I thought what our approach did in Game 5 was it gave us a margin for error to be a little bit sloppy, and we were. That’s not the plan. We’d like to be clean, but we'd much rather approach the game like that.” pic.twitter.com/8suW7OL2Ky
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 28, 2026
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Tom Petrini: Thunder coach Mark Daigneault on what makes the Spurs defense so tough: "They got all the marks of a great defense. They've got, obviously, the rim protection, speaks for itself, but they have great point of attack defenders that are highly aggressive and that really make you uncomfortable on the perimeter with that behind them. And then they're competent, they've got schemes, they're organized, they're disciplined, they're well coached, so all the all the things you need to be a really good defense, they check all the boxes, and it's required us to really be precise on offense, it's made us better. Good or bad, we've had good games against them, and we've had tough games against them, and it's forced us to improve."
Brandon Rahbar: Mark Daigneault on SGA: "I think he gives the team extreme confidence. I think his consistency of approach and tone has a lot to do with our ability to stay steady even if things are unsteady."
Law Murray: Thunder outscored Spurs 26-15 on second chance points in Game 5 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals That's the most second chance points the Thunder have scored in any playoff game under Mark Daigneault
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on their Game 4 shot quality: “It was our worst offensive game by a mile from a process standpoint.”
Mark Daigneault on their Game 4 shot quality: “It was our worst offensive game by a mile from a process standpoint.” pic.twitter.com/NtuXn12n7Y
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 26, 2026
