Amid low expectations, the Oklahoma City Thunder have managed to clinch a berth in the NBA Playoffs this year. General manager Sam Presti shared his insights on their overperformance, citing the “randomness” of every NBA season.
Entering the 2019-20 NBA season, analysts thought that the Thunder were about to enter a long rebuilding process. After all, they gave up their two stars and some key players. But now, the Thunder are fifth in the West and are looking to make a deep run in the postseason. Presti, who has been the Thunder's general manager since 2007, shared some of his realizations over the years and how it informed some of his key roster decisions.
“When you’re in the NBA, if you’ve done it long enough, you realize that there is a significant amount of randomness that takes place in the NBA every single year,” Presti said, per Logan Newman of USA Today. “I think you’ve gotta give the opportunity for the team to figure itself out.”
Apart from Russell Westbrook and Paul George, the Thunder had to let go of blooming role player Jerami Grant. Analysts were confident that the Thunder weren't going to do much with an aging Chris Paul in the fold. But as the season progressed, second-year man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bloomed under Paul's wing. Dennis Schroder, too, provided some much-needed firepower off the bench.
Whether the Thunder does indeed make a great playoff run is a matter of wait-and-see. But they sure made the 2019-20 season a whole lot interesting. Even after losing some of the biggest stars in the league, the Thunder are still out there fighting.
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