Mark Daigneault spares OKC from “disrupting” championship celebration against Rockets

Stage for the 2025 NBA Finals Champion Oklahoma City ThunderThe last celebration is set before the host Houston Rocketsas a coach Mark Daigneault overturned the warning given by the head coaches of most champions at the opening. “Don’t let the emotions of the ceremony distract you from the game,” or something to that effect, is often conveyed. Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is ready for an emotional nightwhat Daigneault expects for his team.

The Thunder’s warning of the inevitable seemed counterproductive, so when a reporter asked Daigneault if he had given his players a heads-up on opening night before facing the Rockets, he gave an honest answer.

“No, I’m not. It’s just another distraction,” Daigneault said. “It’s a great thing for everybody — the fans and everything. But it’s a distraction. You’ve got to share your distractions and be ready to compete when the ball goes in the air. There’s always distractions in every game. But I don’t overdo it. I just see how the guys are doing and we’ll see how we play.”

Thunder head coach Mark Daigno knows this is a historic night for Oklahoma City as the franchise celebrates its first championship ahead of the Thunder’s 18th season of basketball. All-Star and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can’t wait and believes his team will have the mental strength to continue competing at a high level against Kevin Durant and the Rockets.

“I’m super excited. Obviously, I don’t really know what to expect, but yeah, it should be a lot of fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The challenge will be to reel in all the emotion, joy and excitement, reel it all in so we can get the job done and start the season the right way. But I think this group is well equipped to do that.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says the Thunder are still a cut above the rest

Mayor of Oklahoma City David Holt has declared October 21st “OKC Thunder Day” to give the average NBA fan an idea of ​​how significant the Thunder’s first championship is to Oklahoma City. Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, Thunder All Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander believes the rest of the NBA still needs to catch up to the champions.

“We should be ahead of a lot of teams since we have basically the same team from last year,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I feel pretty good about that. We’re not going to be as good tomorrow as we want to be and we will be in a week and a fortnight if we keep going. But I think we’re at a good starting point.”

Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams (wrist surgery) has been ruled out for Opening Night against the Rockets.