Thunder's Mark Daigneault is NBA Coach of the Year

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joked at first when asked what makes Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault good at his job.

“He’s annoying. Always nagging,” the All-Star guard said with a chuckle.

He continued with a more serious tone.

“The best thing about him is no matter who you are, he has a standard,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And it doesn’t matter if you’ve been here five years, if you’re the best player on the team, if you’re the worst player on the team, if you just got here last week — there’s a standard, and you’ve got to play to it and live up to it on and off the court. I think that’s what’s allowed our culture to be what it is as a group. And it starts with him.”

Those qualities have been rewarded. Daigneault, 39, was named NBA Coach of the Year on Sunday after leading one of the league’s youngest teams to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He joins Scott Brooks (2010) as the only Thunder coaches to win the award.