The Oklahoma City Thunder held their exit interviews on Saturday as head coach Mark Daigneault and players officially spoke for the final time in the 2022-23 season.
This comes a day after they suffered a season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, as they were eliminated in the play-in tournament.
Despite the lopsided loss, the Thunder enters the offseason with tons of optimism — owning the youngest roster in the league, they blew expectations out of the water.
Let’s recap some of the best quotes and paraphrases from the day-long exit interviews as the Thunder prepare to flip the page onto the 2023-24 season.
Mark Daigneault will not attend exit interviews because his wife Ashley had a baby today, per Thunder
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Dario Saric is here pic.twitter.com/r6bLKkELlM
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Dario Saric on the Thunder: “They really act like a team who’s matured to win games in the future.”
Said young teams usually have players who play for themselves, which isn’t the case with OKC
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Dario Saric said he's really enjoyed his time with the Thunder and said he'd like to return: "I really liked to be a part of this group."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
SGA is here pic.twitter.com/Ww97RCD1Ma
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
SGA on the front office: "The most impressive part is they really put the ball in our court."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
SGA said he plans on playing for Team Canada this summer
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
SGA said the Play-In felt like playing in March Madness: "It was a new experience. It was fun for sure."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
SGA said he ultimately wants to be one of the greatest players to ever play
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
SGA on what he learned about Chet Holmgren this season:
"A kid who wants to be good… He wants to be really good and he wants to prove himself to the world. That fire in him is impressive. Because of that, I think he's going to be a heck of a basketball player."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Kenrich Williams is here pic.twitter.com/0BRcx9K3EM
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Kenrich Williams said his wrist is feeling better and will get his cast remove next month
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Kenrich Williams said SGA took one of the biggest steps he's ever seen from a player with his defense this season
Also mentioned his leadership impressed him as well and how SGA did a great job at taking JDub under his wing this season
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Kenrich Williams on what he learned about Chet Holmgren :
"Super confident. Somebody that believes in himself and his abilities… He was itching to play this year. I'm looking forward to playing with Chet for sure."
Also said there were certain games where he was missed
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Lu Dort is here pic.twitter.com/4ARMNWusK0
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Lu Dort said he'll play for Team Canada this summer
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Lu Dort on SGA's ascension this season: "I've seen it coming honestly, just from the work he was putting in the offseason."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Lu Dort on playing with Chet Holmgren: "We're very excited… He's looking real good and that's something we could use definitely… We're looking forward to him to be with us."
Said he was very vocal with the team this season
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Poku is here pic.twitter.com/32eefAJXry
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Poku said he got pretty close with Chet Holmgren when rehabbing his injuries this season and is excited to play with him
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Poku said he's not worried about potential extension talks this summer and will put all his focus on improving for next season
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Josh Giddey is here pic.twitter.com/RcjT87yvfM
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Josh Giddey on co-existing with SGA: "I said last year, those types of things with 2 guys that are pretty ball-dominant, they take time… That chemistry will continue to grow as time goes on… I love playing with him. He's one of the best players in the league."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Josh Giddey said he plans on playing for Team Australia this summer
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Josh Giddey was very complimentary of Mark Daigneault, said he does a great job at providing feedback: "If I could build a coach, it's Mark… Looking forward to next year and many years after that."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Josh Giddey said when he retires, he wants to be a GM or owner
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Tre Mann is here pic.twitter.com/JyoJuFlZrr
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Tre Mann on his struggles this season: "It was tough but it was easier to get through with the coaches and teammates… I'm learning from it and I'm going to continue to get better."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Tre Mann said he thinks Drake has written some of SGA's IG captions: "He'll get in the studio a little bit this summer, so we'll see."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
When asked about offseason hobbies, JRE said he enjoys golf and chess as well as looking into cooking more: "I'm really good at cooking breakfast."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Aaron Wiggins is here pic.twitter.com/AvjIbLufVL
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Aaron Wiggins said despite Tre Mann's struggles this season, he hasn't lost faith in him and thinks he'll bounce back: "When he's going, he's almost impossible to stop."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Aaron Wiggins on the memes that say he saved basketball: "That's been going since I was in college. Yeah, I don't know. I'm literally just Aaron Wiggins."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Lindy Waters III is here pic.twitter.com/2BlRfV9vxU
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Lindy Waters III on Mark Daigneault: “It’s been amazing. He’s a great coach. He’s an even better human being.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Isaiah Joe is here pic.twitter.com/A6HcnsfcV0
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Isaiah Joe said his favorite part of SGA’s IG captions is JDub’s translation of them in the comment section
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Isaiah Joe on his thoughts on SGA before he joined OKC: “Even before I got here, I thought Shai was a helluva player.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren is here pic.twitter.com/GB7yjT47On
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
When asked if he’ll play in Summer League, Chet Holmgren is focused on following the plan they have in place
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren on Mark Daigneault: “I think he should be Coach of the Year.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren said his “Free 7” IG post was about him feeling anxious to wanting to return and play for the Thunder
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren on the OKC community: pic.twitter.com/aoS2dvcS44
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren gives an update on his rehab process: pic.twitter.com/xf4S62TIpm
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jalen Williams is here pic.twitter.com/lq9bGw9qx4
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren on the Thunder: “I have extreme confidence in this team. One, because of the way things are run around here. Two, because of the character of the people here. If you’re a bad person, you don’t really end up in this building.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jalen Williams: “You kinda forget that it’s a business here because of how family oriented (this place is).”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jalen Williams on his offseason plans: “I’m going to go to sleep for as long as possible.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jalen Williams said he wouldn’t be shocked if SGA has a ghost writer for his IG captions, but isn’t sure if it’s Drake like Tre Mann thinks
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jalen Williams said he’s grown tired of the Jalen/Jaylin Williams jokes
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jaylin Williams is here pic.twitter.com/TTfkrGkxbC
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
Jaylin Williams on if he’s lobbying for OKC to draft Anthony Black: “I want all Arkansas guys in OKC but wherever he’ll go, I think he’ll succeed.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 15, 2023
