The NBA regular season is coming to an end and talk of awards is heating up. The Oklahoma City Thunder have just 14 regular season games remaining, although they have secured the playoffs with a locked-up play-in spot. Still, the playoffs as a top-three seed is the most likely outcome for the Thunder this season.
As it stands, the Thunder are 48-20 this season and narrowly hold first place in the Western Conference. Typically, the head coach of one of the top three seeds in either conference wins the Coach of the Year award. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault could well find himself in that crowd this season.
It would not be surprising if Daigneault won this award. Two seasons ago, the team won 24 games before winning 40 last season – a jump of 16 wins – which allowed Daigneault to finish second in COTY voting last year.
Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown won the award after taking the Kings from a non-playoff team to third place in the Western Conference, a jump similar to the jump the Thunder are making this season .
With his strong track record to win the award, Daigneault holds odds of -450 to win Coach of the Year, which places him among the top favorites, according to ESPN BET. The next coach behind Daigneault is Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla with odds of +500. The Celtics hold a 55-14 record, 11 games ahead of the second-place Milwaukee Bucks. Despite their large lead in the Eastern Conference, bettors believe Daigneault has a better case to win the award over Mazzulla.
Daigneault is not the only member of the Thunder in the running for a major award, however. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be in the MVP race and Chet Holmgren will be in the Rookie of the Year race. There’s a chance Jalen Williams sneaks into one of the races for Clutch Player of the Year or Most Improved Player.
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