Entering a two-game skid, it seems that Oklahoma City needs a lot of changes to be made, starting with Mark Daigneault’s coaching with the defending champions. Not everything is as good as it seems, even with OKC still at the top of the league with the best record in the league.

So far, the Thunder have hit a speed bump. For the first time since November 2023, they have lost back-to-back games at home, which just shows how good they’ve been. OKC is known for bouncing back after a loss, and they didn't lose a game after a loss in the 2025 NBA Playoffs either.

This season, however, has been quite different so far. Oklahoma City has taken a hit throughout the campaign – they’ve lost to the Spurs three times, suffered their biggest defeat to a lowly team in Charlotte, and now lost to the Pacers and Raptors in straight games. It’s definitely a far cry from what the Thunder really are, but it’s safe to say that they’re struggling too.

Mark Daigneault, for what it’s worth, is known for being one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA. You can line him up with the likes of Mark Jackson, Mike Brown, and many other notable names in terms of constructing a prominent defense that has shaken the league.

To his credit, Daigneault has turned OKC into one of the historic defenses in the league. From the league-leading point differential to some of the most impressive defensive ratings ever, the Thunder have fallen quite far from this identity. We’ve seen them become vulnerable as of late, and the target behind their heads is still up there.

What’s Wrong with OKC?

If we travel back to the start of the season, you would be picking the Thunder to beat the 73-9 record set by the Warriors in 2016. Right now, they’re standing at 37-10. That’s still good for the 40-before-20 rule, and they may still beat the Bulls’ 72-10 record – provided they don’t lose a game moving forward.

For what it’s worth, the Thunder are still the best team in the league. A few hiccups don’t change that. There’s definitely a lot to consider for OKC right now. They have a lot of injured players, and the rest of the league is catching up. However, that didn’t used to be an excuse as the Thunder always played the next man up.

So yes, this has something to do with their coaching. Daigneault won the Coach of the Year award back in 2024, and he hasn’t gunning for that same award ever since. If you even take a spin through Thunder Twitter right now, you’ll find that many fans are starting to blame him for the tough losses as well.

Stacking Injuries Doesn’t Help

The last time OKC had five or more players out of their rotation due to injuries, they were handed their first loss by the Blazers. That says a lot about how OKC needs its players even more – even if they do have the star power in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Even with Chet Holmgren’s drastic improvement this season, we’ve seen hiccups from the Thunder that could have been solved by a coach of Daigneault’s standards.

Sure, OKC’s got a lot of injuries right now. But that doesn’t change the fact that late-game executions have cost them a lot. This is definitely something that OKC is known to be good at. But with Daigneault’s noticeable lack of brilliance in that department so far, it’s pretty hard to say what the Thunder are really lacking, some strong performances as of late.

Let’s be fair, OKC has SGA as its main man on the clutch. So, for Daigneault not to create clutch plays for the Thunder really sucks, especially when you have Chet going up for a winning play instead of the best players in the league.

Yes, injuries do happen. In fact, OKC has one of the most injured rosters this season, and missing the likes of Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso – it does seem pretty fair enough to say that the Thunder does have a pretty banged-up roster to begin with.

That, however, doesn’t change things, such as the team needing more guidance from Daigneault. There’s, however, a chance for them to change things up, especially with the All-Star break coming up at this point. Whatever changes are needed, it definitely has to start with Daigneault.