NBA Finals 2025: How the Thunder built a roster that is the envy of th
[ad_1]
With the NBA Finals set to begin Thursday, it only makes to look back to see how both teams got here. Not in terms of the three teams they beat in the playoffs, but rather how their rosters were constructed, allowing them this chance at NBA immortality.
We’ve already taken a look at the Pacers, so now it’s time for a deep dive on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Advertisement
Right off the bat, we must acknowledge the Thunder have had one of the most atypical models of team-building in the history of the league.
Yes, they built primarily via the draft, which has been a common strategy for decades, but they did so in such a juiced-up way, it became it’s own thing.
The best way to describe how general manager Sam Presti went about this job is to imagine any random mobile game that you pull out on the bus home.
We all know them. The more time you spend on them, the more gems or digital cash you get to reach new goals.
That’s Presti and draft picks, but in real life. There is literally a non-zero chance that Presti somehow acquired two firsts and five seconds as this piece was being typed out. As a matter if fact, OKC has 11 first-round picks through 2030.
Advertisement
But, of course, regardless of how many picks a team has, you still need a crown jewel, and ironically Presti had to go outside the organization to find it.
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports illustration)
The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams trade
When Kawhi Leonard met with the Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2019, he made one thing painfully clear: The only way he was signing there, was if the Clippers acquired another star to come along with him.
The Clippers, seeing the potential of signing Leonard, obliged and identified Paul George as the perfect running mate.
They reached out to Oklahoma City, which was in no rush to pivot off George, a top-three vote-getter in both MVP and DPOY that year.
Advertisement
As such, Presti set his price, and the Clippers went all-in.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari…
[ad_2]