Wallace ignites defense, Daigneault orchestrates wins. Discover the Thunder's impressive monthly accolades and the MVP snub that sparked fan debate.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been picking up plenty of hardware over the past calendar year. And as we enter December, the NBA handed out a few more honors to the reigning champions. But it was the trophy OKC did not win that seemed to strike the biggest chord with Thunder fans.
Cason Wallace was named the Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November. The former Kentucky Wildcat leads the NBA with 2.2 steals per game and leads the Western Conference in deflections.
On a team stacked with elite defenders up and down the roster, Wallace has flown a bit under the radar on a national level. It’s understandable given the two perimeter defenders above him in the pecking order are All-Defensive First Team member Lu Dort and former All-Defensive First Team and Second Team member Alex Caruso. But Oklahoma City fans realize the defensive intensity and physicality Wallace brings on a nightly basis.
Speaking to the depth of OKC defenders, Dort and Chet Holmgren and were also nominated. Amen Thompson was the only non-Thunder nominated.
Mark Daigneault was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for October/November. This one was a bit of a layup for the decision makers at league headquarters. All Daigneault did was lead OKC to a 20-1 start, one of the handful of greatest starts in NBA history. All while boasting an all-time net rating, beating the pace of last season’s historic mark.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, however, did not win the Western Conference Player of the Month for October/November. Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic took home the prize. He was certainly deserving, but a strong argument could be made that Gilgeous-Alexander should have been the monthly award winner.
After all, the reigning MVP led OKC to a 20-1 mark while the Nuggets finished 14-5. Gilgeous-Alexander is also besting his numbers from last year, which went down as one of the greatest individual seasons in league history. His overall numbers have taken a bit of a hit due to his sitting half of the Thunder’s 4th quarter due to blow out games. But when he does play, he’s far and away leading the NBA in clutch points scored.
Curiously, Gilgeous-Alexander was nominated for the weekly conference player of the month award all six weeks of October/November and won the prize twice. Jokic was nominated for the weekly honor three times and won twice.
Ultimately, Thunder fans were very likely more upset at the snub than Gilgeous-Alexander himself. A monthly award is nice. But if he keeps putting up the numbers and wins at the rate he’s doing currently, Gilgeous-Alexander is going to take home the yearly one instead.