Sam Presti Warns OKC Thunder Season Will Look Different

Things will look different for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are not only replacing 10,000 minutes, but they hope to endure their first 82-game season with relative health in two years. The league is also poised to look different. Some big blockbuster moves around the NBA has strengthened the Eastern Conference while also seeing the division rival Timberwolves acquire LaMelo Ball from Charlotte this summer.

On Thursday, Sam Presti addressed the media for his annual preseason media availability. The Thunder's top executive brought up the new lottery format changing the landscape of the league with just how many teams are attempting to compete under the 3-2-1 format.

"Competition is changing as much as all these other things in the industry, and I think that these types of changes will have a big effect long-term on the product of the league in a positive way.
Putting aside the solution of the way we're going to do the draft and stuff like that for a second, because I think that's a whole different story, but when we look at it, we think that we're going to see NET ratings and records that are more similar to the '80s, not because of style of play or anything like that, but the bottom of the league is going to be significantly stronger," Presti detailed.

"I don't know that you're going to see teams with the NET ratings that you've seen in the past or even some of the records. I think it's also going to stress rotations because games are going to go longer from a competitive standpoint. There will be a lot to learn from this. I do think it will have a lot of second-order effects. Not saying any of them are negative, but I think it'll be a bit of a calibration. But I do think the numbers are going to come down, and that's a positive thing because we're getting everybody incentivized in the right direction," Presti said.

"And the next order of business will be to make sure the teams that are giving their best and are trying their hardest but still can't win, because it's very hard to win in the NBA, access somehow a fair access that's not completely random to the best players in the draft. That's the next order of business. But I couldn't be more excited about the season. I think it's going to be highly competitive.
But I don't know that we're going to be seeing 10 NET rating teams all over the place," Presti explained.

Presti laid it out perfectly. Sure, this Thunder team is changing but so is the league. While records and net ratings may change, that doesn't mean Oklahoma City isn't still a fierce title contender.

"In regards to this year's team, I really do feel that by season's end, we could have a really exceptional basketball team if we stay healthy. But we're going to be different. There's no way to avoid that because if you look over the last two years, we're losing about 10,000 minutes combined of those players. We're losing about like a quarter of our minutes played with that particular group. I also think that the new lottery reform is going to definitely have an effect on NET ratings. It's going to be an effect on records. It's going to have an effect on player statistics. Our ability to baseline or compare or understand or interpret kind of what we're seeing, I think that will be a little bit different this year just because of the incentives to win for all teams. But if this team is given the appropriate amount of time to play together, learn together, grow together, I think we could have an exceptional season," Presti laid out.

It is an important warning as the season draws near. This year, the eye test will be more important than ever for Oklahoma City and the rest of the league. Sure, the Thunder may not win over 60 games again during the 2026-27 campaign, maybe the team will not have the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the fourth straight season, and it sounds as though historic NET Ratings are a thing of the past. But that doesn't mean the Thunder's 2026-27 squad regressed, but rather the baseline of success changed.

By seasons end, no matter the record or stats, the Thunder will still be expected to win a championship. The eye test might just reveal that despite on paper regression the team will be in a better spot with internal development, working through perhaps new reimagined play style and hopefully health that they are in a better spot than they were last postseason.

So if the NE T Rating or Record isn't what you are used to once the season rolls around, remember Presti's warning and evaluate this team based on what you think they are accomplishing on the hardwood.

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