The Oklahoma City Thunder are heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012! After absolutely dismantling the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 to clinch the Western Conference crown, the city is electric, and rightfully so. This young, hungry Thunder squad has taken the league by storm. In the glow of that series-clinching victory, Coach Mark Daigneault, usually so focused on the next play, took a moment to reflect.

Naturally, everyone wanted to know how this run compares to that legendary 2012 Thunder team – you know, the one with KD, Russ, and Harden. Daigneault got a little nostalgic, admitting, “I mean, I remember what you guys remember—I was a kid… Those were fun teams, and they built a fun thing here.“ But then he quickly pivoted, and gave huge props to owner Clay Bennett and especially GM Sam Presti for the “heavy lifting day to day.”

Daigneault raved about how Presti “built an unbelievable operation with unbelievably talented people… an incredible day-to-day environment to work in.” For Coach D, the real story was the rebuild: “To have that team in 2012, and then to rebuild really from scratch and get back here—it’s an unbelievable organizational accomplishment.” That’s not just coach-speak; that’s a guy in awe of what his front office and the whole franchise pulled off.

Coach Daigneault also wanted to hammer home just how much this Thunder team has grown up, especially when it comes to handling those massive, high-pressure playoff moments. He pointed right to Game 5 – you’re up 3-1, you’re at home, and everything is screaming at you to just take a breath, maybe even get a little complacent. But not these guys.

Daigneault was clearly impressed, saying, “This team, as they’ve always done, internalizes the experience, strips away the emotion, learns the lesson, and competes presently in the next moment… they’ve just got that way about them.” You can just hear the respect in his voice there; that’s a coach who truly believes in his team’s ability to stay locked in and learn on the fly.

That deep connection and trust within the Thunder organization is clearly a massive part of their success, and this was also a sentiment star forward Jalen Williams perfectly captured. Shedding light on their special dynamic with Coach Daigneault, J-Dub said, “It’s been fun… he’s been able to really understand us over the years, and we’ve gotten comfortable with him… There’s a really cool trust that runs through every single player, and his relationship with each of us is unique.” This mutual trust and competitive fire Jalen Williams described? That’s the secret ingredient fueling this Thunder team’s incredible Finals run.

OKC’s secret weapon? Mark Daigneault and his “fun” bunch of towel-draping “idiots”

So, Coach Daigneault is clearly proud of the organizational rebuild and the trust he has with his players. But what really makes this Thunder team tick? The rare locker room revelation Jalen Williams hinted at might be their unique mix of fierce competitiveness, incredible team-first mentality, and being a bunch of lovable idiots.

Seriously, Daigneault himself used that word. After clinching their spot in the NBA Finals, while being interviewed by ESPN’s Lisa Salters on the court, his players did their now-famous ritual: draping him with a hat and a pile of towels, just like they do with their local sideline reporters. It’s a goofy, fun thing they do, a sign of how loose and connected this group is. And Daigneault, mid-sentence while praising his team’s character, just chuckled and said, “They’re idiots.” But then he immediately followed it up with the real heart of it: “They’re competitive, and most of all, they’re team first. They embody everything it means to be a team.”

That right there? That’s the magic of this Thunder squad. Yeah, they’ve got an MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who’s an absolute killer. And Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, and Alex Caruso are all ballers. But this team isn’t just a collection of talent, they’re a unit. They genuinely seem to enjoy playing together, to celebrate each other’s success, and to have fun while doing it – even if it means playfully messing with their coach during a massive post-game interview.

This team first mentality, this ability to be idiots one minute and stone-cold competitors the next, is something Daigneault clearly loves and cultivates. That’s a powerful insight. For this Thunder team, it’s about that energy, that chemistry, that unity that allows them to be uncommon, as Daigneault put it. They might be young, they might be playful, but they’re also professionals who do everything right and are fiercely competitive.

When you compare this to that 2012 Thunder team, which was loaded with individual talent like KD, Russ, and Harden, there’s a different feel. That team had immense potential, but as Paul George once pointed out, maybe all those future MVPs “wanted to be the man.”

This current Thunder squad? They know SGA is the guy, but as George also noted, Shai is all about letting his teammates eat too. That unselfishness, that joy in playing together, that willingness to be a little goofy while still being all business on the court? That’s what makes this Thunder team not just a contender, but a potential champion.