Being the architect of an NBA champion, Sam Presti added another accomplishment to his ironclad resume. He was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. His body of work goes beyond the basketball court for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Oklahoma Hall of Fame opened in 1928. To be eligible, someone must reside in the state, perform outstanding services to humanity or be known for their public service throughout the state. Of course, anybody who follows basketball knows what Presti has accomplished.

The Thunder have been one of the most successful NBA franchises since relocating in 2008. Presti was named the general manager in 2007. Nearly two decades later, he’s built up two title contenders, three MVP winners and an NBA championship.

One of the longest-tenured NBA GMs, Presti is viewed as one of the top minds of his profession. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook enjoyed some of their best individual and team success when they were in OKC. He’s done it again with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

The latter trio has already collected one Larry O’Brien trophy. A historic start to this season has most folks thinking they’re in a primed position to go back-to-back. Perhaps no other NBA team is better set up to contend both for the short-term and long-term future than OKC.

In his speech, Presti called being the Thunder GM the ‘ultimate privilege,’ and while he joked about the 2012 James Harden trade being a mistake, he’s more than made up for it. One of those ways is discovering Lu Dort. The 2019 undrafted rookie is one of his best finds.

Dort has matured from a two-way rookie to an All-Defense Team member. He was a key starter in OKC’s championship run. Along with Gilgeous-Alexander, both have been the longest-tenured Thunder players when they joined in the 2019-20 season.

Talking about Presti’s Oklahoma Hall of Fame induction, Dort said the entire team has rooted for him over the years to get his flowers. Another thing that makes the Thunder’s success so unique is that most of the roster is homegrown talent. The only real blue-chip talent is Holmgren, who was the 2022 No. 2 pick.

“We all said in our locker room that Sam is a legend here. We feel he got recognized and it’s amazing. We support him,” Dort said. “All the stuff he’s doing with the community and city is huge. We’re all happy for him.”

Presti is synonymous with the Thunder at this point. There’s no stronger relationship between an NBA GM and their fanbase. Most OKC fans recognized the special work he’s put into carefully crafting a title contender that could emulate the decades-long success the San Antonio Spurs had when he started there.

Lu Dort on Sam Presti being inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame: “We all said in our locker room that Sam is a legend here. We feel he got recognized and it’s amazing. We support him. All the stuff he’s doing with the community and city is huge. We’re all happy for him.” pic.twitter.com/2MSDTxHeJZ

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) November 19, 2025