Amid this rough stretch of the season for the OKC Thunder, it appears fans have opted to turn toward Sam Presti's powerful words of wisdom from a few years back in an attempt to stay upbeat.
In recent days, the storied executive's impassioned speech on dealing with in-season adversity following their 2023 Play-In Tournament elimination has resurfaced on social media, and the message could not be more relevant to what we find the ball club dealing with here in the early stages of January.
In his presser, Presti noted that "the sky falls on every NBA team at least two times a year" and that "you may play horrible for weeks, it may be a month."
In his assessment, the "solution" to these kinds of hardships is that "you have to keep pounding through this and working through it" and, ultimately, if a team has the proper temperament and mentality, "you can work through that and become a better player and a better team.”
Needless to say, the Thunder have proven capable of heeding this kind of advice and following it to a tee since it was initially uttered, as they've progressed every year and, last season, even went on to win their first NBA Championship of the Sooner State era.
Now, nearly mid-way through their title defense tour in 2025-26, they must once again try to remember this sentiment and, in turn, remain focused on progressing as an on-court unit.
Thunder must heed own advice in order to course correct
This recent losing stretch has now made their chances of claiming the all-time single-season wins record for themselves rather slim, as they can only afford to lose two more times in order to set it and three more times to tie the 2016 Warriors' 73-win mark.
In an odd way, this may be a blessing in disguise for the organization.
Eliminating the possibility of making history on this front will only shift more focus on achieving what should be their ultimate goal, which is to become the first repeat champion since 2018.
Instead of exhausting their energy on chasing 74 wins, they should be trying to up their production from beyond the arc and on the defensive side of the ball, both of which have seemingly taken a nosedive since the start of their recent 12-game stretch, where they've gone a mere .500 with a record of 6-6.
On top of this, they must look into finding ways to get their secondary and tertiary options going on the offensive end to give Gilgeous-Alexander some much-needed help.
Instead of chasing the glitz and glamor of the single-season wins record, the Thunder must now solely be focused on becoming the best team they can possibly be.
As made evident by Sam Presti back in 2023, Oklahoma City is well aware of the fact that the sky falls on every NBA team. Now, it's time for them to find the solution as they chase their second consecutive championship banner.