Fifteen years ago, Mark Daigneault was a graduate student at the University of Florida searching for a way onto UF head coach Billy Donovan’s staff.
Coming off back-to-back national championships, Donovan brought Daigneault on in a low-level role — one that offered little pay and limited on-court access under NCAA rules. But it gave him his first real coaching opportunity.
Now, 15 seasons later, Daigneault is hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy after winning the 2025 NBA Championship.
“I'm not surprised at all that he got to this level,” said former UF center Patric Young. “Maybe, if there's a surprise, [it’s] in how fast it happened.”
Daigneault’s first job at UF was based on what he could do for the team behind the scenes. He was essentially a volunteer, analyzing film and offering pointers during practices, doing whatever he could to make himself indispensable.
Despite his limited role, the players loved him.
“It’s almost like he was a psychologist, using a strategy to help us be authentic about how we felt about each other,” Young said. “I think even as the head coach, he sees everybody as equals.”
Daigneault found avenues to stay involved despite limited access at the beginning of his tenure. Eventually, he was offered a full-time assistant position within Donovan’s staff.
“I knew he was always going to strive for the best, that’s what he did,” said former Gators center Will Yeguete. “He was always studying the game. He was always really close to the players.”
Before Daigneault officially became an assistant, Young recalled a time when Florida sharpshooter Michael Frazier was struggling with his shot.
Frazier averaged 43% from beyond the arc in college, making him one of the best shooters in college basketball. But for whatever reason, he was in a stretch where he doubted the consistency of his shot.
Daigneault acted as a middleman between Young and Frazier, offering advice to Florida’s team captain to relay to Frazier.
“He was like a mediator for me to give Mike Frazier some direct feedback of how great that I think he is and combat these lies that he was telling himself,” Young said. “He really adapted and listened and understood and tried to figure out where he fit in, and did it in such a non-intrusive way.”
His willingness to connect with players and his understanding of the sport helped him earn promotions at UF, and eventually, an opportunity to coach Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate, the OKC Blue.
“He was always paying attention to details, and that really, really made a difference for some of the performances,” Yeguete said.
Eight months later, Thunder general manager Sam Presti offered the team’s head coaching position to Donovan. Suddenly, two stars amongst Florida’s staff held positions in Oklahoma City.
In poetic fashion, Donovan, now coach of the Chicago Bulls, was the predecessor to Daigneault.
After spending five seasons in the G League, Daigneault became the assistant coach. When Donovan decided to mutually part ways with the team at the end of the 2019-20 season, Presti promoted Daigneault.
The Thunder were entering a rebuilding phase and looked toward a young coach ripe with potential to fill the position.
“Having a younger coach sometimes can help, especially today in this generation,” Yeguete said. “I feel like the guys can really relate to him, and he's giving them so much freedom and just having fun.”
It was evident that Daigneault held desirable traits capable of leading a successful team, but the way he quickly turned around the franchise came as a shock.
In just five seasons, Daigneault won NBA Coach of the Year, led the Thunder to its winningest season in franchise history and coached MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Daigneault quickly ascended to stardom among the NBA’s coaching carousel to become one of the youngest coaches in history to win a championship. After a back-and-forth series, the Thunder beat the Pacers in seven games Sunday night.
“I think that’s only the beginning for him,” Yeguete said. “He has worked his way up. I think none of the coaches can say that they have really started from the bottom and came out of nowhere.”
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on X @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is working his fifth semester at The Alligator and returns as the Summer 2025 assistant sports editor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his cat Pete and researching niche professional athletes (shoutout Jacquizz Rodgers).
