OKC Thunder: ‘Resiliency’ dominates Sam Presti 5 media takeaways

The new “R” is resiliency!

If there was a common thread that ran from the beginning of the media session right through to its conclusion it was the word ‘resiliency’. Last year, when Sam Presti met with the media it was the ‘R and R’ (reposition and replenish) mantra that dominated his comments.

Certainly, the obvious ties are for the team and fans who’ll navigate the season amid a pandemic that continues to rage. The GM touched on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and how that is affecting the community, nation, and in his environment the daily efforts of the Thunder franchise.

Throughout the presser, there were several occasions that Presti referred to resiliency both in terms of the franchise and the players. He referenced prior Thunder players like Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, rookie  Aleksej Pokusevski and now the new vets of the Thunder Hamidou Diallo, Luguentz Dort, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In each case, ‘resiliency’ was a fundamental part of his statement. With former players like Durant, he noted how his resiliency separated him from the pack. KD embraced the failures and learning from his mistakes the GM said.

"“Failure is literally the engine to improvement. If you don’t get a chance to fail, if you don’t get a chance to get feedback as to what’s not working, it’s really, really hard to get better. That’s why I think some of the players we’ve had here over the past 12 years that have really grown, —have done so through really challenging circumstances. — And the one thing they have in common is the have resiliency. They have the ability to take in the information that they not getting it done in the moment but understand the work their doing is going to benefit them in the long run.”"

When citing the returning roster members he cited Dort and Diallo for their resiliency and how they seized their opportunity. And with regards to the future, Presti suggested rookie Aleksej Pokusevski will need to embrace the situation and demonstrate resiliency if he wishes to succeed and make a mark in the league.

Presti also pointed to the future of the franchise and again referenced how the club would need to be resilient as they progress through this phase in their efforts to rebuild and return to a top-tier team.

"“As an organization we’ve prided ourselves on being resilient,” said Presti. “That’s very much what runs through the blood of people in Oklahoma and we want to represent that resiliency and commitment.”"

Fittingly, Presti even referred to the community and city as resilient and something tells me this is part of the speech the team gives incoming players when discussing the culture and identity of the team.