NBCA’s NBA Coach of the Year is Mark Daigneault, the head coach of the Thunder and a graduate of UConn.

After guiding Oklahoma City to the top seed in the West, the former student manager for the men’s basketball team at UConn won the honor.

After leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference, head coach Mark Daigneault has been selected as the NBA Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association. With an average age of 24 this season, the 39-year-old coach had the youngest team in NBA history. This is an amazing accomplishment for him. Each NBA head coach casts a vote for a colleague to win the prize, and Daigneault defeated J.B. Bickerstaff of Cleveland, Chris Finch of Minnesota, Joe Mazzulla of Boston, and Jamahl Mosley of Orlando.

Under Jim Calhoun, Daigneault managed UConn’s student body from 2003 to 2007. During that time, the Huskies had a cumulative record of 104-32. The program participated in the Round of 32 in 2005, the Elite Eight in 2006, and earned their second national championship in 2004 during this time.

In his third season as OKC’s head coach, the former UConn student has shown impressive growth every year. After starting the season with a 24-58 record in Daigenault’s first year, the Thunder finished tied for second in the league with a 57-25 record this year.

After graduating from UConn, Daigneault went back to his home state of Massachusetts, where he spent three seasons as an assistant at Holy Cross. He then accepted a graduate assistant job under legendary coach Billy Donovan at the University of Florida, right after the Gators had just won back to back national titles, the last men’s team to do it before UConn these past two seasons.

Daigneault worked closely with Donovan over the next four seasons, working his way up to assistant to the head coach in this final year. He then decided to jump to the NBA after being offered the head coaching job for the Thunder’s D-league affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. Less than a year later, Donovan was hired as the head coach of the Thunder, where he lead the franchise for five seasons, amassing a 243-157 record. Donovan left for the Chicago Bulls in the fall of 2020, and that opened the door for Daigneault to fill the head coaching position after multiple successful seasons coaching the Blue.

With his reputation as a superb player-coach and offensive inventor, Daigneault has put the Thunder in a strong position to compete for many years to come in the crowded Western Conference. When questioned about the honor, he humbly attributed it to his players.

“A group of talented players, whose commitment and competitiveness have been uncommon, have driven our team’s success this season,” Daigneault stated. “Having them as coaches is an honor.”