When the Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Sam Presti was told by critics that he needed to add a star to get over the hump. Despite entering the day of the 2025 NBA trade deadline with a 40-9 record, that same comment was made.
As the Thunder prepare for the start of the 2025 Western Conference Finals, Presti's decision to prioritize a culture driven less by a surplus of stars than perfectly-placed pieces has paid off.
Oklahoma City entered both the 2024 offseason and the day of the 2025 trade deadline with one known truth: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a franchise player. Questions swirled, however, about Jalen Williams after a lackluster showing in the second round of the 2025 postseason.
Similar concerns persist over the fact that Chet Holmgren has appeared in just 114 games since Oklahoma City selected him at No. 2 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Rather than giving in to temptation and using the abundance of draft picks at his disposal to bring in a star, however, Presti stayed the course. He supplemented the talent in place by prioritizing internal development and the acquisition of specifically-skilled players who could strengthen his vision.
68 wins and a Conference Finals later, it's safe to say Presti has been vindicated for understanding the trend of the modern NBA.
Sam Presti bases every move on what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs
The obvious note in this discussion is that depth and support aren't quite as important when there isn't a true superstar to guide it. As such, Gilgeous-Alexander's emergence as an MVP candidate and the 2024-25 scoring champion undoubtedly acted as the glue to what Oklahoma City has constructed.
Every team invests in a franchise player, however, and Presti deserves immeasurable credit for identifying Gilgeous-Alexander as a player worth building around.
Presti acquired Gilgeous-Alexander and instantly made him the focal point of a remarkably balanced offense run by legendary floor general Chris Paul. He loaded up on playmakers and shot creators, wisely allowing the up-and-comer to be supplemented by volume scorers who could alleviate early pressure such as Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schröder.
The very next season, Presti took the calculated risk of trusting Gilgeous-Alexander to take on a larger role within the offense—and the rest is history.
Presti allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to progressively grow into the player he's become today, constantly finding ways to alleviate pressure along the way. He's built this roster in accordance with what his franchise player has needed, basing every decision on the stages of his development.
That ultimately came to a head during the 2024 offseason when Presti made the bold decision to trade Josh Giddey for a more offensively limited but experienced and ideally skilled veteran.
Sam Presti knew when to move on—and how to do so
In 2024, Giddey was a 21-year-old wing who had already recorded 11 triple-doubles and emerged as a potential All-Defense honoree. His jump shot, however, was a glaring weakness, and Oklahoma City could no longer justify playing him meaningful minutes if it hoped to win now.
The return: A then-30-year-old Alex Caruso, who lacked the offensive versatility that made Giddey so promising, but checked the boxes of what the Thunder needed late in games.
With Caruso, a two-time All-Defense honoree who has buried 38.4 percent of his three-point field goals since 2022-23, the Thunder have taken a massive step forward. He's by no means a volume shooter, but his willingness and ability to convert shots has opened up the floor in ways Giddey was unable to.
It should thus come as no surprise that the Thunder have scored 117.4 points per 100 possessions with Caruso on the court during the 2025 NBA Playoffs—up from 109.1 with Giddey in 2024.
Beyond the numbers, the offense flows more freely and the defense has rounded into peak form. There's no concern about how possessions will be executed on the other end of the floor, as every player has an outlined role and the freedom to play outside of it given their perfectly complementary skill sets.
It's made Oklahoma City a truly dominant force on both ends of the floor, with Presti's willingness to move on from a young building block for a perfect fit a driving force behind the team's success.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Presti showed that it's just as important to know when patience is the answer.
Sam Presti was just as deliberate on when he stayed the course
When the 2024 NBA Playoffs came to a close, the most common criticism sent Oklahoma City's way was that Williams failed to live up to expectations. The numbers looked solid, but a lack of assertiveness from the No. 2 scoring option cost the Thunder dearly against the Dallas Mavericks.
It was the ultimate eye-test criticism of a player who had seemingly made the leap after a huge first round—but Presti didn't budge.
Williams, who's still just 24 years of age, returned to Oklahoma City in 2024-25 and posted career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and three-point field goals made per game. He was empowered to play through his shortcomings and rewarded the faith placed in him.
In his 23 appearances after Presti opted against moving him for a big name at the 2025 trade deadline, Williams averaged 22.9 points on .501/.402/.802 shooting.
Calls for Williams to be traded returned during the series against Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, but Presti's faith was once again rewarded. Williams' shot faltered at times, but his defense never wavered and he posted 24 points and seven assists to close the series out with a massive Game 7.
Williams, who earned his first career All-Star nod in 2024-25, delivered when the team needed him most—another example of Presti understanding the value of backing the right players.
Sam Presti was willing to overpay because value is relative to each team
As the Thunder march on to the Western Conference Finals, one would be remiss to ignore the other calculated risk that paid off for Presti. That, of course, was signing Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $87 million contract that was all but unanimously labeled as an overpay.
Whether or not Hartenstein plays up to the level of an average of $29 million per season, Presti's stroke of genius was realizing that value is relative to each individual team.
The Hartenstein and Holmgren combination was essential to Oklahoma City's success during the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The Thunder stifled three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in an almost unprecedented way, utilizing Hartenstein's strength and Holmgren's length to eliminate anything that might be labeled an ideal angle.
Great players will still find a way to produce, but Jokic shot 5.9 percent worse than his regular-season field goal percentage and committed more turnovers than assists when either Hartenstein or Holmgren were on him.
That epitomizes what made Presti's trade deadline inactivity and refusal to go star chasing so brilliant. He didn't build this team so outsiders would applaud his efforts; he constructed a perfectly balanced unit that allowed head coach Mark Daigneault to find a way to succeed against every possible opponent.
None of this success was predicated on making the easy choice, but instead, understanding the delicate balance between a long-term vision and a calculated sense of urgency. Presti knew exactly when to give up, when to double down, and how to separate market value from the type of costs his team is best equipped to incur.
Presti's patience has been labeled complacency, and his calculated risks as overpayments, but in the end, his strategic approach has been vindicated by his team's success.