Let’s start things with Sam Presti, who knows about as much about the subject of winning an NBA championship as any man on earth. Presti is the architect of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, offering him eternal gravitas on the subject. He’s now built and rebuilt OKC three different times; you’ll recall he was the one who also assembled the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook/James Harden core that reached the Finals as kids in 2012.
(Oh, and as assistant GM in San Antonio before that he was part of the brain trust that won three Spurs titles in 2003, ’05 and ’07. So he really doesn’t need anyone else to vouch for his understanding of what it takes to play professional basketball at the highest level. That’s a résumé that should be written on platinum parchment.)
So Presti knows a thing or two about these things.
And here is Sam Presti talking April 20, 2023, as he was in the process of assembling a juggernaut in Oklahoma.