Sam Presti has been dubbed the architect of this dynasty-hopeful OKC Thunder team, and for good reason.
After all, he is the mastermind behind adding a bunch of diamond-in-the-rough type players via the draft and free agency, swapping the fading Paul George for the eventual MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in 2019, and has a virtually foolproof plan of keeping their star-studded core intact without having to worry about the dreaded second apron.
Of course, even with all of these hits, since taking over as GM back in 2007, Presti has also seen his fair share of misses along the way.
From the decision to part ways with pre-prime James Harden during the 2012 offseason and drafting Ousmane Dieng 11 overall in 2022 instead of, say, Jalen Duren, to last year's trade that shipped Josh Giddey out to Chicago, when looking back with the knowledge we have now, it's easy to see how the executive may have misread a few things throughout his tenure in Oklahoma City.
Yet, even with these undeniable truths, his successes far outweigh his missteps to the point where no one seems to pay any mind to the latter happenings, nor should they.
Even with multiple misses, Sam Presti has Thunder en route to dynasty
As alluded to, Oklahoma City fans have seen guys like Harden win an MVP as a member of the Houston Rockets, Duren spearhead the pivot spot for the up-and-coming Pistons, and Giddey turn heads with his star-on-the-rise play with the Bulls this year, thanks to Presti.
And, interestingly enough, they couldn't be happier with how things are shaping up for their beloved Thunder franchise.
Even outside of the fact that they just took home their first Larry O'Brien Trophy of the Sooner State era last year, this team seems to be in the early stages of something truly special.
Not only are they once again atop the league's standings with a 14-1 record, but they're seemingly on pace to become just the third team ever to eclipse 70 wins in a season and are pegged as the clear frontrunners to win the 2026 NBA Finals as well.
On top of all this, they're also in possession of 13 first-rounders over the next several years, two of which could come in the lottery of this coming June's draft that, by all indications, is expected to be chock full of talent.
Simply put, without Presti leading the charge, none of this would have been possible.