Jaylin Williams’ toughness gets ‘unreal’ approval from Marc Diagneault

Entering Wednesday’s match with an injury list, the head coach Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder fought back, led by backup center Jaylin Williams, in an attempt to upset the Detroit Pistons. Daigneault and the shorthand Thunder faced the Pistons without four starters. And even though Detroit snapped Oklahoma City’s three-game winning streak, Daigneault spoke highly of Williams’ performance.

Williams finished with a season-high 30 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in a 124-116 loss to the Raptors. Daigneault praised Williams for his impressive performance for the Thunder, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.

“He was unreal tonight. Great toughness and obviously great offense — I think it’s a career highlight for him,” Daigneault said. “We ran through him against a team that really presses, similar to what we’ve had to do lately. He was a big help for us again tonight.”

Asked Marc Daigneault about Jailin Williams’ stamina tonight:

“He was unreal tonight. Great toughness and obviously a great offense. I think it has to be a career high for him. We ran through him against a pressing team, similar to what we’ve had to do lately. He… pic.twitter.com/7kIzLVCbIi

— Justin Martinez (@Justintohoops) February 26, 2026

The Thunder’s Aaron Wiggins, who started for All-Star Chet Holmgren alongside Jaylin Williams, finished with 20 points, six assists and four rebounds. Cason Wallace added 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including 3-for-6 from deep, and five assists.

Marc Daigneault’s Honest Opinion on Thunder’s ‘Mental Toughness’

Thunder head coach Marc Daigneault praised his team for its resilience amid beating good teams without leading scorers like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell. Without three of its top four scorers in a 116-107 win against the Raptors on Wednesday, the Thunder came away with a win that left a lasting impression on Daigneault.

“It becomes a very tough game to win when you blow a lead like that and they come back and tie it,” Daigneault said. “Even the Cleveland game over the weekend was like that; we had an early lead. They came all the way back in the game. They took the lead. It takes a lot of mental toughness to get to the next possession.”

“Cason was brilliant all night, but he was huge in that stretch. He had four straight points. And then he found Isaiah. So he scored seven points right off the tie that broke the game open. But great mental toughness from the team.”

The Thunder will host the Nuggets at the Pike Center on Friday.