After destroying the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 124-94 Game 5 win, the Oklahoma City Thunder proved doubters wrong as they cruised through the Western Conference to punch their ticket to the 2025 NBA Finals.

I suppose what you do for six months during the regular season carries some weight in the playoffs. Fresh off a historic 68-14 campaign that saw them break the all-time point differential record at plus-12.9, the Thunder went 12-4 through the first three rounds of the playoffs with mostly blowout wins.

As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saw his teammates grab hats and shirts, the postgame ceremony was the latest achievement the Thunder have accomplished in one of the greatest campaigns ever. Only the illustrative NBA championship is left as they await the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks.

Smiling ear to ear, Sam Presti shared the spotlight with Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder GM was the architect of this squad. Every move has paid off along the way, but they wouldn’t be in this position if he hadn’t traded for the MVP winner way back in 2019.

“Sam didn’t lay out no vision for me. He just traded for me, we had a few conversations, and I realized he knows what he’s doing very quickly,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And then I just trusted him and controlled what I could control. As you guys can see, he has done a great job at doing his job.”

Considering their history, the Thunder should understand how difficult it is to get to the NBA Finals. It took them 13 years between visits, with the cast of characters changing a handful of times in between. But after a couple of days of celebration, they must refocus on basketball if they want to achieve the ultimate crown of an NBA title.

If anybody can make that pivot, it’s Presti. Everybody within OKC has pulled on the same rope for years. From ownership to the roster, that type of company synergy is an intangible needed to achieve this type of success.

“He has changed things around here very quickly,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It speaks to the tone that he set across the organization. He controls what he can control, and we do that all the way down the ladder. I think that’s why we’ve been able to have success.”