Only 2 coaches in NBA history have a better record than Mark Daigneault through their first 40 playoff games

Daigneault hit exactly 40 career playoff games tonight at the end of Game 3 vs. the Lakers, finishing at 29-11. This ties him with Tyronn Lue and Pat Riley.

The Thunder lead that series 3-0, so a Game 4 win Monday pushes him to 30-11. He would own the #3 record solo if that happens. As it stands he’s already part of the rarest air in NBA coaching history.

Phil Jackson — 30-10 (.750)
Steve Kerr — 30-10 (.750)
Pat Riley — 29-11 (.725)
Tyronn Lue — 29-11 (.725)
Mark Daigneault — 29-11 (.725, active)
Gregg Popovich — 27-13 (.675)
Erik Spoelstra — 23-17 (.575)

All seven won a championship within their first 40 playoff games. Full series-by-series breakdown:

1. Phil Jackson — 30-10 (.750) [1990–92, Bulls]

1990 R1 vs MIL: 3-1
1990 R2 vs PHI: 4-1
1990 ECF vs DET: 3-4
1991 R1 vs NYK: 3-0
1991 R2 vs PHI: 4-1
1991 ECF vs DET: 4-0
1991 Finals vs LAL: 4-1 (title)
1992 R1 vs MIA: 3-0
1992 R2 vs NYK (G1–4): 2-2

2. Steve Kerr — 30-10 (.750) [2015–16, Warriors]

2015 R1 vs NOP: 4-0
2015 R2 vs MEM: 4-2
2015 WCF vs HOU: 4-1
2015 Finals vs CLE: 4-2 (title)
2016 R1 vs HOU: 4-1
2016 R2 vs POR: 4-1
2016 WCF vs OKC: 4-3
2016 Finals vs CLE (G1–2): 2-0

3. Mark Daigneault — 29-11 (.725) [2024–26, Thunder, active]

2024 R1 vs NOP: 4-0
2024 R2 vs DAL: 2-4
2025 R1 vs MEM: 4-0
2025 R2 vs DEN: 4-3
2025 WCF vs MIN: 4-1
2025 Finals vs IND: 4-3 (title)
2026 R1 vs PHX: 4-0
2026 R2 vs LAL (G1–3): 3-0 (series ongoing, OKC up 3-0)

4. Pat Riley — 29-11 (.725) [1982–84, Lakers]

1982 WCSF vs PHX: 4-0 (Lakers had R1 bye)
1982 WCF vs SAS: 4-0
1982 Finals vs PHI: 4-2 (title)
1983 WCSF vs POR: 4-1 (Lakers had R1 bye)
1983 WCF vs SAS: 4-2
1983 Finals vs PHI: 0-4
1984 R1 vs KC: 3-0
1984 R2 vs DAL: 4-1
1984 WCF vs PHX (G1–3): 2-1

5. Tyronn Lue — 29-11 (.725) [2016–18, Cavaliers]

2016 R1 vs DET: 4-0
2016 R2 vs ATL: 4-0
2016 ECF vs TOR: 4-2
2016 Finals vs GSW: 4-3 (title)
2017 R1 vs IND: 4-0
2017 R2 vs TOR: 4-0
2017 ECF vs BOS: 4-1
2017 Finals vs GSW: 1-4
2018 R1 vs IND (G1): 0-1

6. Gregg Popovich — 27-13 (.675) [1998–2001, Spurs]

1998 R1 vs PHX: 3-1
1998 R2 vs UTA: 1-4
1999 R1 vs MIN: 3-1
1999 R2 vs LAL: 4-0
1999 WCF vs POR: 4-0
1999 Finals vs NYK: 4-1 (title)
2000 R1 vs PHX: 1-3
2001 R1 vs MIN: 3-1
2001 R2 vs DAL: 4-1
2001 WCF vs LAL (G1): 0-1

7. Erik Spoelstra — 23-17 (.575) [2009–12, Heat]

2009 R1 vs ATL: 3-4
2010 R1 vs BOS: 1-4
2011 R1 vs PHI: 4-1
2011 R2 vs BOS: 4-1
2011 ECF vs CHI: 4-1
2011 Finals vs DAL: 2-4
2012 R1 vs NYK: 4-1
2012 R2 vs IND (G1–2): 1-1

Available_Story6774 | West

40 | 7 hours ago

I wonder how far the Thunder would’ve gone in the 2024 playoffs if they beat the Mavs in round 2 that year instead of losing to them in 6.

fattest-fatwa | Spurs

88 | 7 hours ago

Probably at least the WCF

yeahright17 | Thunder

17 | 7 hours ago

Big if true.

CenterJenna08 | Bulls

20 | 7 hours ago

PJ and DJJ were ridiculous that series.

UntilDoncic | Lakers

21 | 6 hours ago

Honestly Josh Giddey played the thunder out of that series imo

SlimmySlinky | Thunder

5 | 4 hours ago

Na. The team couldn’t shoot outside SGA and Chet was their only center. Those were far, far bigger problems than Giddey

Chet was ⁶⁄₂₇ from 3 & Dort ¹³⁄₄₁. Our bench players couldn’t score at all.

SGA lead the team in rebounds which probably says all about how good our rebounding was.

TechMoney5

4 | 2 hours ago

Made the team send up the iHart signal.

Kingofthebags

2 | 3 hours ago

LOL not at all. C’mon now, nobody could get a 3 bucket or crash boards.

VladimirPutain1 | Timberwolves

6 | 5 hours ago

Thunder - Wolves in 2024 would’ve been a great matchup, probably fairly evenly contested. I think Boston would have been decent favorites over OKC, but it would have been a winnable series for the Thunder.

ntpbr1

1 | 4 hours ago

Would lose to the Wolves, but if they made it out, absolutely no chance they would beat Boston.

inshamblesx | Rockets

-4 | 7 hours ago

they would be working on a 3peat

Master-Wonton | Bucks

33 | 7 hours ago

Don’t think that young team could’ve beaten the Celtics that year.

Longjumping_One_9164 | Thunder

1 | 5 hours ago

Nope, wpuld have been competitive but we would of lost as just no forward or centre depth.

OverallGeneral7129 | Cavaliers

21 | 7 hours ago

They were not beating The Celtics

vindictivejazz | Thunder

14 | 6 hours ago

We were absolutely beating the Celtics!

Once. In five games

OverallGeneral7129 | Cavaliers

3 | 6 hours ago

As was tradition

UntilDoncic | Lakers

17 | 7 hours ago

that version of the thunder was not beating that version of the celtics bro lmao. They couldn’t rebound, they were nowhere near the defensive menace that they are now, and josh giddey was a liability on both ends in the playoffs. boston was better at basically everything.

Tank-Has-Memes | Thunder

31 | 7 hours ago

I rarely see any praise for how good of a coach he is. Obviously the team has elite defensive players but he is the true mastermind behind the scheme

Ok_Order_482 | Pacers

9 | 6 hours ago

He’s a great coach, I’d also say that he is working with a front office that has been ¹⁰⁄₁₀ over the past few years (including hiring him). Reminds me a lot of kerr + the warriors front office which is always a good thing to be compared to

EnderTheTrender | Thunder

6 | 7 hours ago

Look at the game thread on our sub sometime. The amount of coaches we have is stupid.

Decent_Ad_6060 | Wizards

10 | 7 hours ago

Tyronn lue proceed to go 28-30.

kg005 | Thunder

8 | 5 hours ago

Ty Lue the most overrated in this list. Just chugged along the LeBron train. In next 5 years, people will realize he’s just Doc Rivers 2.0

Makaveli84 | Lakers

4 | 4 hours ago

100% true

JustAnotherBasicDad

2 | 4 hours ago

Spo, great coach. But he didn’t win a title within his first 40 playoff games according to the information you provided.

ExpressionAlone5204 | Thunder

2 | 6 hours ago

Hilarious that he gave away a couple of games last year and could actually be leading the pack

BurkeanMarxist | Thunder

1 | 6 hours ago

I remember when he finally got his regular season (NBA) coaching record over .500

direcandy

1 | 5 hours ago

even with two game 7s last year? damn.

Babushka5 | Celtics

1 | 4 hours ago

Mazzulla?

sovereignlogik

0 | 4 hours ago

Ok?

[deleted]

-3 | 7 hours ago

[deleted]

FunnyCod2120 | Thunder

7 | 7 hours ago

he’s just sharing a fun fact about a coach who doesn’t get talked about nearly enough for what he’s done. he’s a very smart coach and has helped build this team and players into what it is/what they are.