OKC’s Mark Daigneault downplays SGA’s wild free throw differential

OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second straight game, a head coach Mark Daigneault saw Oklahoma City ThunderThe difference in free throw shooting stands out in the box score he has shown Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempted only two free throws. After Gilgeous-Alexander attempted an incredible 26 free throws in a 141-135 double overtime win against the Indiana Pacers, he went a perfect 4-for-4 in a 117-100 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

Since then, Gilgeous-Alexander has attempted a pair of free throws in each of the Thunder’s back-to-back games against the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. After Tuesday’s 107-101 win against the Kings, which gives Oklahoma City a perfect 5-0 start as the defending champions, Daigenault has downplayed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s huge free-throw shooting margin lately in each of the Thunder’s recent wins.

“It’s five games into the season. It’s the beginning of the year for every team. It’s early in the year to judge,” Daigneault said. “We’ve got to get better right now — that’s what we need to focus on. We’ve got to focus on what we can control. That’s how you get better. And we can’t control how they call the game. So when we go in, we try to calibrate it as best we can and adjust to the whistle. If there’s a trend that builds up during games, I might say something more.

“But it’s very early and we have a lot to address. So we’re not trying to judge the trial at this point.”

While it’s hard for Thunder fans to shake the feeling that NBA officials might be swallowing their whistles amid the overwhelming response to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 25+ free throw attempts in Week 1 of the regular season, it’s still early. Daigneault’s waiting point for a significant trend is valid just five games into the 82-game regular season.

After Daigneault and the Thunder’s championship last year, they know the postseason is still a long way away.

Marc Daigneault’s layup is the Thunder’s biggest takeaway from the Kings

Thunder head coach Marc Daigneault pointed out what stood out the most amid a 10-point deficit in a 107-101 win against the Kings on Tuesday. Daigneault he reflected on his team’s struggles down the stretch.

“The biggest thing is to expose guys to different situations and encourage critical thinking in different ways, whether it’s in practice or on film, because ultimately (there’s) not enough time to make every decision,” Daigneault said. “So it’s about preparing the team to think on the fly. Recognize patterns and recognize situations, and this team has been in that process for a long time, and we’ve been in a lot of those games, and we’ve handled those things well.”

“Habits at this point in the season that we have to improve. We’re certainly not the finished product through five games, but we had a good performance in those situations.”

Mark Daigneault on Thunder’s late-game performance against Kings: “The biggest thing is exposing guys to different situations, encouraging critical thinking in different ways…

It’s about preparing the team to think on the fly. Recognize patterns and recognize situations” pic.twitter.com/tveET5IzEA

— Joshua Pavon (@joe_svai) October 29, 2025

The Thunder will host the 6-0 Wizards on Thursday.