Sam Presti recently acknowledged the fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder have a huge target on their backs as the defending champions this upcoming season. Despite being the hunted, Presti reminded reporters that the team’s approach will remain the same.
“We’re not chasing an outcome. We’re trying to repeat a process. We are trying to improve. And that’s really how we’ve gotten to where we are,” Presti said in his media availability. “I think we have to have a discipline to stay with that.”
“People handle the year after winning the championship differently. The challenges are well-documented, and the odds are clear that they’re severely stacked against the team that won. The primary reason for that is simple: it’s very, very, very hard to win one time. We’re not looking to imitate ourselves or get tied down to what has worked in the past,” he added.
There have been no repeat champions since 2019, as six NBA teams have failed to advance past the second round of the postseason the year after they won. And the Oklahoma City Thunder plan to buck the trend this year.
Oklahoma City Thunder News: Sam Presti drops injury update on 2025 first-round pick
The Oklahoma City Thunder had the 15th overall pick in this summer’s draft, which they used to select Thomas Sorber from Georgetown. Unfortunately for Sorber, his NBA debut will have to wait due to a torn ACL he sustained recently.
“He spent the whole summer getting himself back, and was playing great (before the ACL injury),” Presti said about Sorber. “(He) was playing 5-on-5, was anxiously waiting for the rest of the team to show up. He’s got great energy, natural energy, buoyancy. That’s going to really help him through this.”
Oklahoma City will essentially have the same core of players this year, as they handed lucrative extensions to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams, and Ajay Mitchell after winning the Larry O’Brien trophy.
