“These guys are uncommon,” said Daigneault, who was an assistant at Florida when the Thunder lost to Miami in the 2012 finals, was coaching Oklahoma City’s G League team in 2016 and has been at the Thunder helm since 2020. “They do everything right. They’re professional. They’re high character.”

Sean Marks built the Nets around Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving back in 2019, and added James Harden to a superteam a year later. But now as the general manager gears up for another rebuild, the superteam is dead, killed by the new collective bargaining agreement and its punitive second apron.

Pacers vs. Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals sparks debate—could this mark the start of a new, youth-driven era in the league?