"Erik Spoelstra robbed once again"- NBA fans divided over Thunder's Mark Daigneault winning Coach of the Year award

Mark Daigneault led the OKC Thunder to the top of the Western Conference this season, a year after finishing 10th. The young team has surpassed expectations with Daigneault being named the 2023-24 Coach of the Year, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania on Sunday.

The OKC Thunder (57-25) had the third-best offense (118.3 rating) and the fourth-ranked defense (111.0 rating) in the league. In the team's final regular-season game, a 135-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, they secured the first seed in the Western Conference.

However, several NBA fans were left divided by the winner of the award as they shared their reactions on X.

"Erik Spoelstra robbed once again."

X user HaMu (@FBball123) argued that Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley should also have a Coach of the Year award for the kind of regular season that team had (47-35, fifth in the East).

"I guess deserved, Mosley should have one though," the fan posted.

X user tboe (@tboeNFT) wrote that any NBA coach would have put out the same kind of results with that Thunder unit.

"Anyone could have coached that squad," the fan posted.

X user BasedCelticsFan (@BasedCelticsFan) commented about Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla being the one who should have won the award. The Celtics squad finished the 2023-24 regular season with the league's best record at 64-18.

"All respect to Coach Daigneault, but Joe Mazzulla got robbed," the fan posted.

X user MFFL Reax (@MfflReax) argued that Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd should have been the winner with the team finishing fifth (50-32) in the West.

"Should have been Kidd," the fan posted.

Mark Daigneault was one of the strong candidates for the award throughout the season as he turned the OKC Thunder into an intimidating unit, despite being composed of a young cast of players.

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Mark Daigneault's contract with the OKC Thunder

On July 19, 2023, the OKC Thunder announced that the team was extending Mark Daigneault's contract with a multi-year deal. However, the salary of the contract was not revealed by the team's front office.

After former Thunder coach Billy Donovan left the team for the Chicago Bulls following the 2019-20 NBA season, Mark Daigneault was named as the replacement where he would be in charge of transitioning a young unit into a cultural change in the subsequent years.

He has been the coach of the OKC Thunder for four seasons and is in a prime position to keep it for years to come.