Why the Oklahoma City Thunder might have the brightest future in the NBA

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For the second time in his career, Sam Presti is building a winner.

Few general managers get a second shot at building a contender after failing the first time. But Sam Presti isn’t just the general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder. To Thunder fans, he’s the most important person in their franchise’s past, present, and future.

Thunder fans hate hearing this, but Presti squandered one of the most talented teams in the history of the NBA. It happened through a series of horrid moves including not retaining James Harden, trading for Kendrick Perkins, and missing on draft picks like Mitch McGary, Presti failed to build a championship roster around three future MVPs in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Harden. He also hired two below-average head coaches, Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan. A decade later, third-year head coach Mark Daigneault was a top-three finalist for Coach of the Year. They finished as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, 13th in defensive rating, third in pace, and fourth in possessions. With the team blowing by pre-season expectations and earning a Play-in Tournament berth, the mistakes of Harden, Durant, and Westbrook are in the rearview mirror. With this new Thunder young core, Presti is primed to build another contender all over again.

Presti came to the Thunder through the Seattle Supersonics, where he was hired in 2007 before he selected Kevin Durant second and Jeff Green fifth (in a trade with the Boston Celtics for Ray Allen). The following year he took Russell Westbrook No. 4 and Serge Ibaka 24th, right before the franchise was relocated to Oklahoma City. Presti was hired by the Oklahoma City-based ownership group after they bought the team in 2007. He looks like the prototypical Seattle hipster, with tailored suits paired with Nike sneakers, stylized haircuts, and bespoke glasses.

After ownership reneged on their promise to keep the team in Seattle, Presti was taken, along with the Sonics, to OKC, rebranded as the Thunder. Once he arrived in OKC, he made it his mission not just to stay for the long term but to reimagine what a small market team is capable of. This became known as “The Process,” not to be confused with the Philadelphia 76ers named “Process” coined by former GM Sam Hinkie. Presti’s selection of three future MVP candidates is among the greatest draft accomplishments in NBA history. Just as much, his failure to win a title with those three is one of the greatest flops in utilizing talent.

But with Thunder University 2.0, he’s accumulated the largest trove of assets in NBA history to ensure he can outbid anyone in future trades. The Thunder possess an astonishing 38 draft picks over the next seven years, with 19 first-round picks and 19 second-round picks, an accomplishment no other team has achieved. Over the next two to three years, Presti will be able to outbid any team for any player with his draft cache and roster of young players on value deals.

The second rebuild started when he pulled off one of the best trades of this century, when he sent the newly re-signed Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a king’s ransom of Danilo Gallinari, guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a massive haul of draft picks including five first-round selections. But the key piece was Gilgeous-Alexander, who has evolved into an MVP candidate in his fourth season with the team. Unfortunately, the draft picks Presti received will likely be middling, as the Clippers will always be a contender with Kawhi Leonard and George on the roster.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring has increased significantly this season, averaging 31 points with 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He is considered the best in the league in driving to the basket, leading the league in drives per game at 23.9 while scoring 17.1 points per game on his drives. Just as important as on the court, Gilgeous-Alexander has become the team’s best marketer off the court. His experimental fashion sense, lovable personality, and advocacy for Thunder culture have made OKC hip again. That alone should earn him an award.

Knowing big-time free agents will never choose Oklahoma City, Presti has built this team primarily through the draft. This time, Presti targeted long, athletic two-way players to build around SGA. Outside of Westbrook, Ibaka and Durant, the previous Thunder U core lacked athleticism outside of their big three, and this time, he has prioritized getting guys who can run and gun and play defense. Take, for example, Lu Dort. Despite being ranked as a five-star recruit by ESPN out of high school, Dort went undrafted in 2019 and was picked up by Presti. He has since become one of the top perimeter defenders in the league while maintaining an average of 17 points per game. Dort’s versatile defensive skills enable him to guard all five positions and willingly take on the most challenging defensive assignments.

During the 2021 draft, Presti made a surprise move by selecting Australian pro Josh Giddey with the sixth pick. Giddey’s passing skills make him a visionary on the court, with enormous growth potential. He also can play multiple positions, making him a critical piece for future draft selections. With the combination of Giddey and SGA’s larger frames, Presti will be free to select the best available player, regardless of position. In addition, as soon as Giddey improves his three-point shooting percentage, he will become an even more dangerous threat in the Thunder’s offensive spacing.

In last summer’s draft, they nabbed one of the league’s best rookies in Jalen Williams at 12. Williams finished First-Team All-Rookie with a true shooting rate of 59.7 percent, which is in the 81st percentile in the league. Want more? Williams has the third-best PER of his teammates at 15.3, was third in total assists, second in win shares, and fourth in defensive rating at 113.3. He averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists as the Thunder’s starting power forward. With his impressive athleticism and versatility, Williams possesses star quality and appears to be the ideal stretchy wing to complement the team’s numerous talented facilitators in transition.

That’s not even mentioning the second pick in this year’s draft, Chet Holmgren, who has been out since the pre-season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot. At 7’1 and with a 7’6 wingspan, Holmgren is long, athletic, and a strong finisher in the paint. He can also step out, space the floor with his shooting, handle the ball, and make plays off the dribble. The Thunder made the Play-In Tournament with 6’9 rookie Jaylin Williams playing as an undersized center. When Holmgren returns next season, he gives them a unicorn at the five with the two-way ability and pick-roll promise alongside Gilgeous-Alexander.

After two full seasons of tanking, the Oklahoma City Thunder have finally achieved competitiveness, marking the end of their rebuild. They now boast a genuine star in SGA alongside three highly promising players in Giddey, Williams, and Holmgren, and the largest treasure chest of draft picks in the history of the NBA. Presti’s number one goal this summer will be using some of those picks to acquire veterans via trade. At a median age of 22.7 years old, the Thunder are the youngest team in the NBA. They need veterans to fill out the rest of the roster and add leadership and stability on and off the court. Presti can’t go another season without adding tough, playoff-tested vets to the team. Once he does, a top-five seed in the Western Conference is goal number two.