While the Oklahoma City Thunder have long been known for their stockpile of surplus draft picks both in the past and in the future, Chet Holmgren is the only single-digit draft pick on the roster and one of only four first rounders in the rotation. Sam Presti’s front office has built out the roster with under-the-radar players such as Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.
Even their other stars, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, were late lottery picks.
“They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” Mark Daigneault said. “I think that’s one of the things that Sam’s nailed in this process. The types of people that we’ve brought in the door, regardless of whether they’re still here or they’re not, by and large, have been committed professionals that are ambitious, but they’re also willing to complete the team.
“So that’s been a huge starting point. And then you take those people, you put ’em in a stable environment, you educate ’em on the value of all the invisible things, and you hammer that over and over again. You hammer that environment over and over again. You hammer those messages over and over again and then you double down on the people that you have and just allow that to grow and compound.”
