The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov released an article on Monday that listed off 40 of the NBA’s best non-players personnel in the league that are under the age of 40 years old.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had two representatives on the list that include head coach Mark Daigneault, who is 37 years old, and VP of basketball operations Will Dawkins, who is 35 years old:
“Daigneault became one of the youngest head coaches in the NBA when Oklahoma City hired him prior to the 2020-21 season. He has made a quick rise to the position and showed enough potential to get hired by Sam Presti at just 35. He was a college assistant before the Thunder brought him on in 2014; he subsequently spent four seasons as the head coach of the organization’s G League team. The Thunder are just 41-91 with him at the front of the bench but he has helped lead a very youthful roster through two lean years as the franchise has focused more on development during his term.”
“Dawkins seems like the next Thunder front-office executive to get an opportunity to run his own team, following in the footsteps of Rob Hennigan and Troy Weaver, and has already been identified as a potential future GM. He started in the video room and has since spent 14 seasons in Oklahoma City, and now has an integral role alongside Sam Presti.”
It’s nice to see both of these individuals gain some national recognition for the work they are putting in with the Thunder. Especially in Daigneault’s case, who has done a great job in two seasons with a rebuilding squad.
