My thoughts on Sam Presti’s press conference last Monday
For me, the annual summer Sam Presti press conference denotes the official end of the season. Thus, the offseason has officially started for us Thunder fans.
I have often described Presti as a role model for me. In my eyes, he is the greatest general manager ever for reasons other than the teams he has fielded or the players he has drafted. The man has built a strong culture around treating people right and connected a team to a city’s core in a way that no one will ever be able to do.
It’s for this reason exactly that I relish the opportunity to tune into every single media availability that Presti holds — there is so much to take from what he says that applies to real life. When I graduated college a month ago, his message of humbly turning the page from a year ago provided me much solace. His emphasis on patience and resilience has been ingrained into me over the years, and his famous “scared money don’t make none” reference has always made me understand the importance of taking risks.
And, as expected, Sam delivered again with an incredible presser just short of two hours. After a season which ended in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss, he showed a lot of passion and depth than I am usually unaccustomed to seeing from him. He typically always knows the right things to say, but after being forced to hold his annual event about a month earlier than expected and without any championship fanfare, it’s safe to say that there is a lot to unpack.
I talked about my takeaways from Presti’s 2025 conference in a similar article last year, and in a lot of ways, there will be a lot of repeat material. In his own words, the Thunder organization strives to perfect a process rather than to chase any outcomes of sorts. As such, a lot of “Presti-isms” are reused from last year.
“Well, go back to last year,” Presti said with a laugh. “We were saying the same stuff after we won the title. I mean, I don’t know, check the transcript, I guess.”
So, in a lot of ways, Presti embodies OKC’s 0–0 mantra of not getting too high off the wins, because you get too low off the losses. Stability and processes are of utmost importance, and the results will fall into place eventually.
In this edition of my thoughts, I want to focus on what really stood out to me, so here goes nothing.
Defending the undefendable
Maybe the most notable part of Sam’s presser was his fervent defense of superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In a multi-pronged answer, Presti addressed the back-to-back MVP’s “flopping” accusations pretty thoroughly, stating that Shai plays against a sixth player every night in a critical social media audience. He also brought up a variety of statistics to back his point.
“He drew 415 fouls this year, 11 were challenged,” Presti said. “Four of those were overturned. So that’s like 2 1/2 percent of the foul calls were actually challenged…He’s tied with Embiid for 8 and 9 in terms of number of fouls drawn in the season.”
The first part of this quote is one that I don’t agree with. Gilgeous-Alexander gets to the line a lot, and because of this, fouls on him range from ticky-tacky to excessive. A heavy majority of these plays are fouls, but challenges are not the way to prove this point. Challenging is nuanced, and until the NBA implements a way for teams to challenge more than twice a game, strategy says to preserve challenges for monumental calls only.
In my eyes, as a Thunder fan, Shai is the best player in the league because of his ability to control the pace of a game. Stopping on a dime, playing physical with his defender, using crafty crossovers, and getting to the free throw line, of course. I absolutely agree that some calls that he gets are weak, and seldom is any game ever perfectly refereed. However, his name has become synonymous with flopping instead of the scoring talent he is, and recent narratives about fall percentage have taken discourse around him to a low.
While some points of Sam’s may be flawed, his overall argument is one that I admire. Shai does so many good things as a superstar, and often every fan must agree with it but refuses to focus on it.
“And the only thing I’m pointing out is, I don’t think he’s being unfairly handled,” Presti said. “I just think, instead of talking about something that we are looking to find as a negative, can we please also acknowledge that he also does a lot of positive things for the game?”
The main point of Presti’s argument is inherently not controversial at all, but pushback was received. Pieces of his answer were distributed on social media out of context, even getting respected media members like Zach Lowe to take the bait.
To summarize Sam’s comments on the positives to Shai: he’s brought the mid-range shot back to the meta; he rarely complains about non-calls to referees; he is a class act to the community and never gets in trouble; he plays an overwhelming majority of games and is rarely injured; and, finally, he is the league’s most accessible superstar.
That last point is one that hits home for me. During this season, after a matchup with the Golden State Warriors, I was able to get my hat signed by Shai. That moment meant so much for me as a fan, especially remembering all the days before where I tried to get Russell Westbrook or even Jerami Grant to notice me. He puts the effort in to make things special for his fans, even before the biggest games of his life.
Without a doubt, Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best players to ever touch a basketball, but an overwhelming majority of fans choose to promote toxicity and refuse to appreciate one of basketball’s legends while he is here. I guess they’ll have to continue to hate for years to come.
The disappointments of the season
It was uncharacteristic to see Presti being surprisingly candid during this year’s presser. If his defense of Shai wasn’t enough, he truly didn’t mince words when it came to the season.
“If there’s one thing I’m a little frustrated about, besides not winning the final quarter of the season, I think we lost out on a lot of team development,” Presti said. “I think there were some things we felt really good about trying to improve upon and get better at, but you need the regular season to do that.”
The Thunder played 31 different starting lineups this season, and their main lineup used throughout the playoffs last season only played 11 games this season, going 6–5. It’s absolutely telling that injuries devastated this team’s ability to work on weaknesses from the championship run. Continuity is everything with a young team.
Luck plays a major factor in any championship run. Last season, the Thunder were very lucky to be mostly healthy throughout the playoffs, even with Jalen Williams’s hand injury. That’s not to say that they didn’t deserve the championship, but maybe the cards just didn’t fall our way this year.
Speaking of this year, another major disappointment was Chet Holmgren’s performance in the Western Conference Final. The forward received All-NBA and All-Defense honors this year and was a dominant force through the first two rounds of the playoffs. However, he was severely limited against the Spurs, averaging just 10.7 points per game and a measly four points on two shots in Game 7.
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Holmgren is no stranger to big games, being an instrumental member of last year’s championship run. His performance was objectively poor in the Western Conference Finals, but regardless, the Thunder have to stick by their guys even through the lows. Sam knows this.
“I’m not really that concerned about (Chet),” Presti said. “The good thing is you get to confront those things again and continue to improve, and I’m confident that he’ll be ready to go.”
There have been many instances of players who have had meltdowns in the playoffs. The poster child of this is Ben Simmons in the 2021 playoffs, and a more recent example is Jalen Duren from this year. All three made severe mental mistakes, and I believe all three deserve the criticism, but for various reasons.
With Holmgren, we know what he is capable of. He’s a stretch big who can space the floor, shoot with precision, and play lockdown defense. Yes, the other two were also All-NBA guys, but both Simmons and Duren are unusable on the perimeter. In other words, clogging the paint on Chet is not an effective strategy.
While a lot of criticism is deserved and his performance was disappointing, the sky is not falling on Chet Holmgren. People suggesting to trade him are not true fans, and while more could have been produced, Chet still had some positive contributions on the offensive glass and defensive end. He will be fine, just as Sam said.
“(Chet) is a guy who’s intrinsically motivated,” Presti said. “He doesn’t need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement.”
That being said, there will be a much more vigilant eye on Holmgren next season, specifically in his matchups against stronger and lengthier centers like Victor Wembanyama. If he can’t get over his confidence issues, the conversation changes. Rest assured, everyone is paying attention.
However, if Presti believes in Chet, everyone should believe in Chet.
Tough decisions ahead
Watching Presti speak about the team made me realize the sheer uncertainty in the Thunder’s offseason plan. On one hand, the exact same team could theoretically run it back, given certain contract tweaks and minor changes at the bottom of the roster. On the other hand, team mainstays and championship contributors could see themselves on different squads.
“We have 15 players that we really like, all under contract for next season,” Presti said. “We’re going to put our best foot forward. Where that takes us, I won’t be able to tell you that until the summer, but it’s going to be a group effort.”
As a fan, I dread the day that a player like Lu Dort or Cason Wallace leaves to blossom elsewhere. At the same time, the prospect of adding a top blue chip talent by trading up in the draft is incredibly attractive given this organization’s knack for realizing talent.
Personally, I think a Wallace extension is the Thunder’s priority this summer. The guard was selected to his first ever All-Defense team this season, and during a stretch of injuries, he proved his scoring abilities as the first option on offense. At his worst, he is a premier defensive talent who can guard 94 feet and space the floor with his sharpshooting. Extend him, Sam.
An extension for Wallace would undoubtedly come at a high cost — think Christian Braun’s 5 year, $125 million extension with the Nuggets as a comparable. At such a cost, there would be no justification for him to continue to come off the bench, effectively taking Dort’s place in the starting lineup. Regardless of how conversations go with Dort, his team option will likely need to be declined.
Dort has sacrificed a lot to fit into the Thunder. Thus, in almost every lineup, he is the worst offensive player on the floor. His three point shooting, while stellar during the championship run, fell off a cliff this playoffs, and his ball-handling and finishing are incredibly suspect. There is no way you can ask a 27-year-old to take a further step back and a pay cut.
Moving on, Isaiah Hartenstein is essential to this team’s success. He anchors the offense with his passing abilities and dribble hand-offs, and his defense on opposing big men is vital. He’s made such a large imprint on the Oklahoma community with his foundation, and there’s no way I see the Thunder moving on from him. A rework of his contract seems obvious.
The final player to consider is Aaron Wiggins. A staple bench contributor from the championship run, Wiggins saw his minutes dwindle in place of Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain. The former 55th overall pick was a true Presti gem, but it’s clear that a change of scenery may be in the cards — he would start for some teams, too! Knowing Presti, he would do right by Wiggins and trade him.
With the 12th and 17th picks in the draft, the Thunder need to capitalize on value, either trading up or trading down. Finding a desperate team who wants to sneak into the late lottery for a falling prospect (e.g. Aday Mara or Nate Ament) is more likely, and getting ample value in future drafts allows OKC to keep kicking the can. The Thunder already have Sorber and Topic to focus on, regardless of how deep this draft looks.
However, if history tells us anything, it’s that the Thunder value young talent almost too much. Knowing Sam, the Thunder will be picking at least once in the first round — the last time they didn’t was in 2018. A realistic target would be a player like Morez Johnson Jr. or Karim Lopez, and down the board I’ve been eyeing Isaiah Evans, who I got to watch live this year.
In my eyes, trades are going to get harder. With opposing GMs knowing the wealth of players and picks that we possess, Presti has low leverage. A move up would likely not be a fair trade, but I trust this team’s scouting abilities.
There’s so much more that can be spoken about, and I have a different piece in the works on the “bully pulpit” comments that Sam made. However, as a whole, I wanted to acknowledge the impressive season of the Thunder. Even with the hardships along the road, a 64 win season should be celebrated as one of the most impressive in this franchise’s illustrious history.
A brief reflection on my writing journey
About a year ago, I was extremely unhappy with my life and career prospects, and with the help of a dear friend, I was able to actualize how I was feeling and connect back to the things that I was passionate about. I realized that, even if I had millions and millions of dollars in my bank account, one thing that would never leave my life is my love for my favorite sports team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Anything to do with the Thunder gave me thrills, and the media component of it all was fascinating to me. My opinions, knowledge, and unique voice being broadcast to the world seemed so exhilarating in a way. After all, my experience as a fan is really unique compared to a lot of others.
It was around this time last year that I made it a goal to become a better public writer. Specifically, I wanted to write about sports in a journalistic way instead of an “in my journal” way. Covering a team instead of just writing about my obvious takes and opinions. And, of course, polishing my writing style in a way that I could communicate with others.
The first article I ever posted was my takeaways from Presti’s presser last year, and ever since then, I knew I needed to get involved more deeply. I joined the Daily Californian to cover Cal men’s basketball and write my own occasional columns. I learned about the objectivity that comes from coverage of a beat, and I experienced so many cool moments in the sports world, from interviewing world class athletes and coaches to experiencing heart-racing finishes from the press booth.
In a way, writing this article represents one year since setting my goal, and, reflecting on this past year, I am really proud of how far I have come. I do cringe a little bit when I see my first articles, but behind it all, I am so happy to have found my authentic voice behind everything I write. Whether for an actual publication or just for my own blog, I plan to continue writing, and I hope to introduce more of an analytics component to share more insightful takes than emotional ones.
Sam, thank you for being the catalyst on my journey. I hope that one day, you will read this and know how much respect I have for you (and hopefully you will offer me a role that allows me to pick your brain).
And now, a long offseason awaits us all.
