Sam Presti issues major statement ahead of OKC’s training camp next week

After this offseason, headlined by the acquisitions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstiein, everyone — from current and former players, analysts, and fans — began putting the OKC Thunder in the upper echelon of the NBA.

On the heels of a historic 57-win season, the expectations for next season will either fuel Oklahoma City to its best in years or swallow it completely. Just how ready are the Blue and Orange? We’ll find out soon as the regular season tips off late next month. In the meantime, OKC’s season motto has already been established by its architect.

The truth about the Thunder’s season

Behind the front office magic all these years has been Sam Presti, the 46-year-old GM, who has seen and done it all. From drafting a trio of future MVPs to trading for what would turn into arguably the league’s best point guard a decade later, the list of hits on his resume is lengthy.

On Wednesday, we got the first taste of the vibes of a new season. Presti held a preseason press conference and spoke to reporters for the first time since July when the Thunder capped off the NBA Draft and a summer of landscape-shifting moves.

While deserving attention is being thrust upon Presti’s young bunch, he wants to keep things in perspective while challenging his young players to do something virtually no team has ever done — to be the “exception.”

“Anything is possible; it just can’t be expected and shouldn’t be expected to be handed over or easy,” says the Thunder GM. “We, as an organization and as a team, have to earn our arrival, and we have one season to try to do that with because that's all we have in front of us. … What we’re trying to do is be the exception to an age-old rule in sports, which is you cannot win at the highest level with young teams. We recognize that in order to be exceptional, in order to be that team, you have to be willing to be the exception.”

This is a fresh perspective offered by Oklahoma City’s chief leader. He made some breathtaking changes this summer without battering the team's nucleus. Some may argue that the Thunder have never had a deeper collection of talent.

But, even with all the excitement at hand, Sam's last desire is for the outside world's noise to push his players past their mental limit before the season starts. He doesn’t want players to walk into the season knowing that they are one of the best teams in the association; he wants them to earn the stripes of a championship contender.

As September comes to an end, OKC’s Media Day and training camp are right around the corner. With the mindset Presti wants to enshrine into his players, if everyone — from the stars to the final guys off the bench — believes in these principles, it’ll be the first major step to a successful 2024 campaign.

Related: Vecenie explains why Caruso and Hartenstein will make OKC the top defense in 2024