On Thursday, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti noted that, for the last six years, the reigning champions haven’t made it out of the second round the following season. The odds are stacked against OKC repeating, and “the primary reason for that is simple,” Presti told reporters. “It’s very, very, very hard to win one time.” The Thunder are champions now, but Presti hit a lot of the same notes at his annual preseason marathon media session that he has in the past: They’re focused on incremental improvement, they expect to have ups and downs, they will be fluid and flexible with lineups as they search for new ways to win.
“We’re not looking to imitate ourselves,” he said, “or get tied down to what has worked in the past.”
The champs are bringing back last year’s entire rotation, but the most exciting part about the team is that it could look different. The core is young, and the offense has room for growth.
“I don’t think we’re at a place yet where other teams are sitting around feeling like they can’t stop us,” Presti said.
Last season, they didn’t get to see much of their double-big lineup, they didn’t get to see much of Ajay Mitchell and they didn’t get to see Nikola Topić at all. It is possible that, after winning 68 games and the NBA title, the next version of the Thunder will be significantly better. Scary thought.
The state of play
Last year: Isaiah Hartenstein got hurt in the preseason and Chet Holmgren got hurt 10 games in, so Jalen Williams, who stands 6-foot-5, found himself playing significant minutes at center. Despite the fact that the two bigs played in only 20 games together, the Thunder finished the regular season with a league-best 68-14 record. After winning his first MVP award and making First Team All-NBA for the third straight season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC to a title, taking down the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Pacers in the process. The series against Denver and Indiana got dicey, but in both cases the Thunder won Game 7 comfortably.
The offseason: The Thunder drafted big…
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