Roughly a week after the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season ended, general manager Sam Presti spoke with the media to conduct his end-of-season press conference on Thursday.
The Thunder’s 2022-23 season concluded following a play-in tournament loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Players conducted exit interviews this past Saturday, where all 15 full-time players spoke for the final time before their offseason began.
Presti spoke for nearly two-and-a-half hours, where he discussed a wide range of topics in one of his handful media appearances of the year.
Let’s look at some of the best quotes and paraphrases from Presti’s presser as the Thunder officially wrap up their season and look forward to the offseason.
Sam Presti starts off by thanking the fans at the airport: "I really feel like those people are representatives of the die-hards that exist."
Said it was well received by the players
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on the fans: "We want to have and build a homecourt advantage."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on the team's physicality, which he previously mentioned as a goal for this past season: "I thought we made strides in that area."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti: "I thought the playstyle continued to grow and evolve… A lot of the progress we saw in that respect, is all linked back to the 2020-21 season."
Also mentioned that OKC's 3-point shooting improved this season: "A big part of that is the shots that we're getting."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said he thinks there's room to grow relating to playing physically on offense
Cites that OKC ranked last in the league when it came to getting to the bonus
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said he thinks the defensive physicality can improve: "We're always going to need more nasty."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on the upcoming offseason: "This will be our 3rd draft in this sequence we are in as a team."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on what the young Thunder learned this season: “I think they also learned that the sky falls on every NBA team at least two times a year.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti: “What we’re looking for is consistent performance over a long period of time as a result of continuous improvement and progress.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti: “I also think this particular group of guys has a chance to win a lot of games… They can win a lot of games together if they choose to do that…
“I talked about the (2nd) mountain — we're staring that sucker down.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Mark Daigneault: “I’m happy for him that (his peers) are seeing things that he is going are effective… I think that he speaks the language and is totally aligned with the organization, which I think helps amplify a lot of different aspects of the team.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said he liked the Play-In tournament and was supportive of the idea when it was being discussed
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on OKC's culture: "I think there's a huge difference between a culture of winning and a culture where you can win."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on what he learned most about Josh Giddey this season: "Age is a number."
Mentioned a play vs. the Bulls where Giddey held off Pat Williams and grabbed a critical board: "That rebound was a winning rebound… That was a nasty play."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Chet Holmgren's offseason plans: "Just keep progressing… See how he continues to do. He's moving onto 5v5 play… He's in a great spot in terms of what he was able to accomplish."
Said it's a possibility he plays in Summer League: "He'll want to play for sure."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti can't officially comment on the new CBA but had the following to say: "The NBA and Player's Association have shown what it can look like to have that type of leadership. Because this was not an easy thing to do."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on those who want to ban the charge: "I don't know how much easier you can try to make it for the offense… At some point, you're going to need to have defense play."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said they're going to be a work in progress for a while because they're so young and not a .500 team yet
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on the first impression Isaiah Joe gave him when added late in training camp: "He came in confident but not impatient."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said he thought Poku had a great year and mentioned how he was one of the top stories before he broke his leg
Also said how in each season he's had, you can say he's gotten better at the end of it
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on using cap space this offseason: "We'll look at everything but we've generally been pretty conservative on how we approach that."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
When asked about updates on a new arena, Sam Presti said there aren't and a lot of that will rely on Mayor David Holt, who he commends his forward-thinking on it
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Lu Dort: "There's some people not watching the games if he's not an All-Defensive player."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Mark Daigneault: "I think he's good at understanding the sequence of building out a team."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said they'll play in 2 Summer Leagues again this year and notes how it gives them more opportunities/reps for the players
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti wraps up his presser by mentioning the Memorial Marathon, which will be from April 28-30 and encourages fans to go out and support those in the race
"That weekend is a big weekend for the city."
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Jaylin Williams from Auburn declaring for the draft:
“Dually noted.”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on the possibility of trading draft picks:
“We’ll play risk. One thing we’re not is scared.”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 20, 2023
Really like this quote from Sam Presti:
“I’ve had players who I thought were gonna be good that weren’t very good. I’ve had players who I thought weren’t gonna be good who were really good. We’re all guessing to a degree.”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti says he thought having Al Horford in OKC helped in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s development because it gave him a different look.
–
This is why the idea of Chet next to SGA is exciting. Playing next to a 5 who spaces the floor will open things up so much for Shai.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Andre Roberson playing in the G League:
“Oh it was just amazing. That’s what made him a great player. He’s over himself. Most guys wouldn’t do that. He just wants to play.
He’s one of the all time teammates we’ve ever had.”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti on Lindy Waters III “those are paths that we like. We are not a yellow brick road program. He has done a great job. I remember him showing up to open gym and had a hard time getting into games” said he figured out “how to play well here”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) April 20, 2023
Sam Presti said Mark Daigneault did a good job of “not blasting through adversities” but taking the time to lay out and discuss why they may be happening which let the team get through adversities
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) April 20, 2023
"You can't have everyone turned up to 11 like it's Spinal Tap"
Sam Presti on the Thunder as they continue to grow
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) April 20, 2023
"It was a little choppy… he takes challenges… it's a big summer for him"
Ousmane Dieng's season
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) April 20, 2023
"What books are you reading? @AndrewKSchlecht asks Presti.
That's the magic question that ends the presser.
Presti went two hours and 20 minutes, beating last year's record of two hours and 13 minutes.
Always learn a lot from these. Stories coming soon.
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) April 20, 2023
