If you're a fan of good, old-fashioned generational warfare, this is the NBA Finals for you.
That's not due to the players—despite the Oklahoma City Thunder's youthful reputation, star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is actually a year older than Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. This year, it's the coaches who bring radically different life experiences into this matchup.
According to Stats Perform, the age gap between 65-year-old Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and 40-year-old Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is the largest in Finals history. That's right—a baby boomer and a millennial will duke it out for all the marbles.
For evidence of their separation, take a look at their coaching trajectories.
Carlisle, a gifted college guard, had to sit out a year when he transferred from Maine to Virginia after the 1981 season. He played against North Carolina guard Michael Jordan, and played five NBA seasons for three teams (including the New Jersey Nets). His professional career began before Daigneault was born, and he took his first NBA coaching job around when Daigneault was in high school.
Daigneault, on the other hand, did not play collegiately. Instead, he cut his teeth working for Billy Donovan-era Florida—the Gators were light-years from hoops success in Carlisle's day—and in the newly renamed G-League. Now, he will coach the Oklahoma City Thunder against a man who routinely coached against the Seattle SuperSonics.
May the best generation win.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rick Carlisle, Mark Daigneault's Age Gap Will Set an NBA Finals Record.
