Oklahoma City Thunder Media Day began on Monday, and the first person to speak to media was Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, who spoke on the team’s performance in the offseason as they prepared for the 2025-26 season.

Starting off his remarks, Daigneault thanked the Thunder organization and employees for their work following the previous season.

“We had another great offseason,” Daigneault said. “I just want to thank all the staff [who] have boots on the ground.”

 While many eyes over the summer looked to the Thunder’s offseason acquisitions, including Thomas Sorber and Brooks Barnhizer, several questions directed toward Daigneault revolved around the team’s star lineup.

Regarding Chet Holmgren, who missed the entire 2022-23 season and a chunk of the 2024-25 season due to injury, Daigneault said his offseason performance showed great promise.

“He’s got a track record of productive offseasons,” Daigneault said. “The guys that are efficient and impactful are the ones who tend to have the runway for more. He’s clearly shown to be an efficient and impactful player despite only being a third-year player.”

 As for reigning NBA MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgoues-Alexander, Daigneault said the star player has a strong commitment to being the team’s leader.

“A lot of his work is in the invisible spaces; he just does the work,” Daigneault said. “A lot of it is unseen. He is deeply committed to being the best player and leader and person that he can be, and he puts the work in behind that.”

 Additionally, Daigneault said SGA continues to show improvement on the court.

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“Improvement is a skill,” Daigneault said. “Being able to improve, ahead of your improvement curve, is a skill that he has displayed time and time again.”

Daigneault also says Thunder guard Jalen Williams, or J-Dub, who underwent surgery on his shooting hand shortly after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, also showed success in the offseason.

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“The fact that he was rehabbing an injury didn’t change his process in the offseason,” Daigneault said.