Mark Daigneault secures major NBA honor after Thunder’s win against Nets

With a convincing victory of 127-101 over Brooklyn Netsthe Oklahoma City Thunder (35-7, .833) secured the best record in the Western Conference through games played on Sunday, February 2nd. Mark Daigneault his debut performance as head coach at the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

Daigneault is slated to lead one of four teams in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, which is set for Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The game will air at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.

A member Thunder head coach Mark DaigneaultThe coaching staff will also step into the position of head coach of one of the NBA All-Star teams. The other two head coaching roles will be awarded to the head coach and assistant from the Eastern Conference team with the best record in games played through February 2nd.

The NBA is reimagining the All-Star Game

This season brings a noticeable shift, as the league is looking to revitalize the All-Star Gamewhich has been trying to maintain its appeal in recent years. Last year’s event, despite a return to the classic East vs. West format after experimenting with a “captain’s draft” led by fan-voted leaders, faced widespread criticism.

After all 24 All-Stars are selected, they will be grouped and drafted into three teams on February 6. TNT analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith will serve as honorary general managers at the draft.

The 2025 NBA All-Star Game introduces a new mini-tournament format, featuring four teams and three games. Three teams will make up the NBA All-Star selections, while the fourth team will include the winners of the Castrol Rising Stars competition, held on Friday, February 14.

Four teams will compete in two semi-final matches starting at 19:00 CET on February 16, broadcast by TNT. The winners of these games will advance to the championship round, and teams will need to score at least 40 points to secure a spot.

Marc Daigneault’s time with the Thunder

In his five seasons at the helm of the Thunder, Mark Daigneault compiled a 177-182 record and led the team to a playoff appearance last season.

Daigneault earned the 2023-24 Coach of the Year award after transforming the Thunder, who finished 40-42 and 10th in the Western Conference in 2022-23, into a 57-25 team the following year.

He becomes the first Oklahoma City coach to receive the honor since Scott Brooks accomplished the honor in 2013-14.

“Honor. A huge thank you to all the people behind the scenes in the organization who work with the players, not only this season but in previous seasons as well. This was construction, and a lot of people have their fingerprints on it,” Daigneault noted after learning of his selection.

Thunder has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander securing a spot in the starting lineup for the All-Star team, while Jaylen Williams has emerged as a strong candidate to join him on the roster.