The Oklahoma City Thunder are heavy favorites to make the NBA Finals thanks to a youthful team that likes playing electrifying basketball together. They have numerous outstanding young players who can pop off whenever the team’s struggling to put points on the board.
However, the team still runs through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s fingers. The Canadian superstar is playing elite basketball, which makes him among the favorites to win the regular-season MVP. Moreover, Kendrick Perkins considers him the most important man in the 2025 postseason.
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While it may seem that things naturally came together for the Thunder to be this dominant in a very crowded Western Conference, SGA clarifies that the team received a boost from one of the team’s most important figures.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals that Sam Presti’s message in 2022-23 helped the team become Western Conference juggernauts
Nick Gallo talked with the 26-year-old star, asking him multiple questions. When it got to how the team gelled together the way they did, Shai credited GM Sam Presti for his message to the players in the 2022-23 season.
“[Presti said] our destiny is ours to control, and if we prioritize winning, we’ll win,” SGA explained. “Everyone received that message loud and clear, and we’ve taken that and run with it this past three years, and we’ve taken steps because of that.
“The tone that they set with what they prioritize as an organization and as a front office, as the coaches, that trickles down to us. That’s all we see.”
It’s easy to see how Presti’s words helped SGA become a better player. It was during this season that he took the massive jump from a solid guard into one of the league’s best guards. He’s averaging 31.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.8 steals with a 52%/36%/89% shooting clip since the 2022-23 season.
It’s not impossible to imagine Gilgeous-Alexander becoming a more dominant player as he gets to the peak of his athletic prime. Should everything go well for them on the court (and Presti keeps on getting superb role players with the team’s treasure trove of draft picks), OKC should get their first NBA banner up in the rafters.
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