Billy Donovan’s leadership earning Thunder players’ respect

9:28 AM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY — Billy Donovan has a line he likes to repeat when he’s talking about his philosophy with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

How can I bring value?

Donovan said that line a number of times in his introductory news conference last summer and has dropped it periodically throughout his first season as Thunder coach. His focus from the moment he was hired until now — three victories from an NBA Finals appearance heading into Sunday’s Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors — hasn’t been in how he could overhaul the Thunder to fit his style. He wanted to refine them, to elevate them to a higher level of basketball. He has hammered home offensive concepts of ball movement and spacing. He has talked incessantly to players about discipline and composure. And he has been a keen observer and listener, soliciting the constant advice of his stars while flexing on defensive schemes, verbiage and rotation patterns.

There were plenty of question marks — NBA inexperience being the biggest one — when general manager Sam Presti made the decision to fire Scott Brooks and hire Donovan, who spent the previous 19 seasons at the University of Florida. He was thrust into an ideal, but difficult, situation from the start. A ready-made title contender with superstar talent, but with inclusion of win-now pressure.

And on top of it, Donovan started in Kevin Durant’s free-agency season, in which every move and decision would be critiqued and catalogued for possible future reference. To help with that, Donovan rounded out his staff last summer with plenty of NBA experience, adding Monty Williams and Maurice Cheeks as his top two assistants. Williams hasn’t been with the team since February, when his wife, Ingrid, died tragically in a car accident. And Cheeks was away from the bench for six weeks late in the season due to hip-replacement surgery.

During the time when both were away, the Thunder hit their low point of the season, losing eight of 12 games following the All-Star break, a stretch which featured back-breaking lost leads. (As well as the deaths of minority owner Aubrey McClendon and the brother of Thunder guard Dion Waiters.) With Donovan’s top two assistants away, it was all on the first-year NBA coach to guide the Thunder as they tried to navigate a rocky time. Players have since lauded Donovan for …

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