How Sam Presti is Using Oklahoma City's First 15 Seasons to Set Up Lasting Success

With Oklahoma City’s unexpected rise back to postseason play, it’s easy to forget just how young this team is. The Thunder was one of the youngest teams in the NBA a season ago and still has so much room to grow.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has turned into an experienced veteran leading the way for this team, and he’s just 25 years old. With Chet Holmgren inserted into the lineup, the Thunder will add another starter just 21 years old.

General manager Sam Presti has seen this story before and knows the team will need support and belief once adversity strikes. It’s easy to hop on the bandwagon when Oklahoma City is picking up steam down the stretch, but the team needs unconditional support on its way back up to the top.

“They’re gonna need encouragement and support,” Presti said during his press conference. “They’re still one of the youngest teams in the league. There’s still a lot of inexperience and there’s going to be a lot coming at them.

“One day, we want to have a real home court advantage again. We understand that we have to earn that, as is the case in professional sports everywhere. But, we’re really excited about the opportunity to go out and have a chance to do that again. This season is one chapter in what we hope is going to be a pretty long story for the Thunder.”

Towards the end of last season when the playoffs were in sight, fans started to pack out the Paycom Center once again. It’s no secret that attendance has been nowhere near the glory days, though.

From 2009-2020, Oklahoma City had a reputation for being one of the best home crowds in the NBA. As the team rebuilt, fan interest declined. With the current core on the cusp of turning into something special, it’s only a matter of time before Loud City is back and better than ever.

As a team, the Thunder — and fans — have been blessed with an unbelievably high level of basketball since the franchise’s move from Seattle. It taught Presti and management what a rebuild takes and what is needed for sustained success.

“In the spirit of the (Thunder’s) 15 years, if you look at it, since 1976 when the ABA and NBA merged, there hasn’t been a more successful first 15 years of an expanded team or a relocated team — and that’s more than half the league,” Presti said. “There’s some pretty damn good organizations in that group.

“I think as time goes on, you can appreciate — I know we do — how fortunate we’ve been in so many ways. Especially the type of players and people we’ve had. But you can’t be wise with another man’s experience, we had to go through that to learn what it is that we’ve learned about trying to build the best basketball team we can in Oklahoma City — with the set of values that people here would appreciate, and would resonate with them.”

As Oklahoma City turns to another group of future stars, the team can only hope the next 15 years are as successful as the first.