Marc Daigneault admits the Spurs’ defense is unlike anything OKC has seen this season

After the defeat of San Antonio Spurs for the third time in 12 days, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault he’s had more than a day to digest what went wrong for the defending champion. During his post-game media availability, Daigneault presented Victoria Vembaniama and the Spurs with flowerswhile emphasizing San Antonio’s approach extends beyond the All-Star Center.

At Thunder practice, Daigneault revealed that the Spurs the defense stood out the most in Thursday’s loss, he said, per Clemente Almanza of the Thunder Wire.

“I’m very careful after the game not to discredit the opponent, because any win is a deserved win, and they deserved to win,” Daigneault said. “To simplify it to mistakes and lapses would be to oversimplify and take away the credit for the fact that they came here and won that game with incredible collective will, and aggression the way they did. So, it’s their cup of tea.”

Next, Daigenault discussed the contrast he saw in the Thunder’s 130-110 loss on the road Tuesday compared to the 117-102 loss on Christmas Day at the Paicom Center.

“I thought our offensive process live, and then looking at the numbers, on film, it was better at home than it was in San Antonio,” Daigneault added. “In San Antonio, we didn’t score the ball very well because we didn’t get very good shots. Here, we got some good ones that didn’t fall, and we just have to have the discipline to double that, and believe that over time it will come back to the mean, and we’ll win more than we don’t when we do, or we won’t score more than.

“Their shooting performance also had something to do with our defense. They didn’t play us the same way as many opponents – that’s to their credit, and the way they attacked. But, like I said, it’s not down to mistakes and misses. They deserved to win. They deserved to win. We have no problem admitting that,” concluded Daigne.

Marc Daigneault on his thoughts on their 2 recent losses to the Spurs: “I thought our offensive process live and watching film was better at home than in San Antonio. We didn’t score the ball well in San Antonio because we didn’t get good shots. Here, we got good… pic.twitter.com/6at9amej6Z

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 27, 2025

The Spurs handed the Thunder their first loss at home (14-1) of the season.

Marc Daigneault on Spurs without Victor Wembanyama

Thunder head coach Marc Daigneault was impressed with the Spurs’ approachemphasizing during his post-match media availability how well Spurs executed the defending champions, with or without All-Star Victor Wembanyama.

“They’re a really good team. He’s obviously a very impactful player, but he missed a lot of time and they didn’t miss a beat when he was out,” Daigneault said. “Then when he’s off the floor, they don’t miss a beat when he’s off the court. So that’s not surprising at all. They got really good players. They play well as a team. They’re well coached.”

“They’re doing very well, and he’s obviously impactful, and that adds to that. But it’s not like him and the rest of the team at all. They have a very good team,” Daigneault concluded.

The Thunder will host the 76ers on Sunday.