During Sunday’s 124-120 win over the Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was handed a technical foul at the 1:21 mark of the second quarter.
This came seconds after Josh Giddey also received a technical foul — which was later rescinded.
It’s the latest addition of a recent trend for Daigneault.
On the season, Daigneault has been T’d up six times, the fifth-most among head coaches. A pretty high number for him considering the Thunder only have 14 total technicals this season, which ranks near the bottom of the league.
“If you’re not talking to me, i’m not talking to you”
i love Mark Daigneault lol pic.twitter.com/rjHzARNdek
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) March 19, 2023
In Daigneault’s first two seasons as head coach, he received zero technical fouls. So what exactly changed besides the Thunder finding themselves in the playoff picture and playing meaningful March/April regular season games for the first time in his tenure?
According to Daigneault, it’s about wanting to be officiated as fair as humanly possible, noting human error is an inherent flaw in a high-paced sport.
“Very little built-up frustration. I didn’t get any in my first two years. I’m definitely choosing when to unleash whatever it is,” Daigneault said after Monday’s practice. “I’m prioritizing getting my point across at the expense of a technical above-not. If I get them, I get them. Fairness and consistency — we need those things from the league and from the refs. If we don’t think we’re getting them then I think it’s my job to point that out.”
Mark Daigneault on getting technicals: “I didn’t get any my first 2 years… I’m prioritizing getting my point across at the expense of a technical… Fairness and consistency — we need those things from the league and from the refs.” pic.twitter.com/9cuKUukjj4
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) March 20, 2023
The Thunder lead the league in drives per game by a wide margin at 64.2 a night. The second-place New York Knicks are at 55.8 per game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the catalyst of OKC’s drive-and-kick offense as he leads the leagues in drives once again (24.2) for a third consecutive season.
Despite the Thunder being such a drive-heavy team, they’re only 17th in the league in free-throw attempts at 23.5 a game. So something isn’t adding up.
Perhaps Daigneault and the Thunder are slowly realizing that being diplomatic with the officials might not be the most efficient way to receive the whistle they think they deserve and it takes a little bit of juice to accomplish that goal.
If the Thunder are slowly exchanging their hospitable philosophy for a more blunt approach, then they’re doing it smartly making Daigneault the face of it.
As Daigneault has previously mentioned, it’s more tactical for him to receive technicals than the players. This exonerates players from racking up technical fouls, which could lead to consequential ejections and/or suspensions. It also won’t run the risk of ruining a player’s reputation.
All season long, Gilgeous-Alexander has been graceful about the officials when asked about them, noting that they’re people too and mistakes happen. To completely flip that could lead to some unintended repercussions — like Gilgeous-Alexander not receiving as many foul calls as he’s grown accustomed to this season.
Letting Daigneault be the voice of frustration for the Thunder avoids that risk.
Nonetheless, as the Thunder continues to declare themselves as a legit playoff contender, it’s only fair to expect more intense games as they experienced in their comeback win against the Suns. And the more intense a game is, the more likely Daigneault continues to receive technical fouls at the cost of getting his message across to the officials.
For the Thunder, it’s an end that justifies the means.
