Marc Daigneault’s revealing look at the Thunder’s rookie breakout

Oklahoma City ThunderRookie Branden Carlson’s unflinching effort earned him first-quarter minutes from the head coach Mark Daigneault. In the first quarter and without starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, Daigneault turned to Carlson in the Thunder’s 136-116 win against the Cleveland Cavs. Branden responded with a pair of 3-pointers in Oklahoma City’s 30-2 run that spanned the second quarter.

He finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep, four rebounds and one block in 17 minutes. After the game, Daigneault discussed whether or not Karlsson knew he would get early playing time against the Cavs, the team with the best record in the NBA.

“I didn’t tell him, no,” Daigneault said. “(With) Hartenstein, that’s the first thing. So that frees up thirty minutes. And then, I give a ton of credit to Branden. All the invisible things that you guys don’t see and most people don’t see, the high-intensity drills, the small-minute group, his Blue minutes, the way he approaches practice and then, these late-game minutes, when it’s a blowout. It plays the same way on all those platforms. And he executes.”

Karlsson impressed Daigneault during the rookie’s tenure with the Thunder. After starting up front, Chet Holmgren suffered a pelvic injury. He was added to the roster for depth at center and has since made the most of every opportunity.

“I remember it was his first week, and he’s out there getting minutes like that, and he knew the whole book,” Daigneault added. “And, I was like, man, this guy is on it. For him to be so focused right away. So when they’re doing it consistently across all those platforms, then you can assume that’s how they’re going to do it in the first quarter.

“So I give him a lot of credit not only for his preparation tonight, but for the build-up and the way he used what other people see as scraps.” He accepted it and got ready. That was a big lift for us tonight. He did a great job,” Daigneault concluded.

Since the Thunder’s win against the Cavs, Karlsson has played in the first frame of the following contests against the Dallas Mavericks and the Thunder’s 127-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets. He was waived before agreeing to a 10-day contract on Jan. 10.

Marc Daigneault became the head coach at the 2025 All-Star Game

Thunder head coach Mark Daigno will coach in the 2025 All-Star game. He secured that honor after the Thunder’s win against the Nets on Sunday. The Thunder posted the best record in the Western Conference (35-7).

The 2025 NBA All-Star Game is on Sunday, February 16.