After a disappointing finish to a historic Thunder season, it’s now time to pick up the pieces and work for the next campaign. Thunder GM Sam Presti has begun the work by combatting critics of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. He did not hold back in his end-of-season press conference and addressed many issues the Thunder will solve heading into the offseason.
As the Thunder go back to the drawing board, it seems that Presti knows — or at least has a hint on — what he should fix moving forward. With many changes expected for the 2025 champions, expectations are definitely high.
Sam Presti Claps Back at SGA, Chet Holmgren Critics
Usually, we see coaches bring this kind of defense to their players. Presti, however, isn’t the common GM you’d find out there. He’s the genius who engineered this magical OKC squad back into relevance. It’s only fitting that he should be the one who gets to talk more about the talents he brought into the team.
Presti Ends SGA “Foul-Baiting” Allegations
This has been one of the toughest issues the league has seen in a while. We’ve seen how SGA — the reigning back-to-back MVP — has been criticized heavily for allegedly drawing fouls and flopping on the floor. Presti, however, was quick to denounce these talks, saying the Thunder star is “playing against six people. He’s got five defenders on the floor, and the sixth is social media.”
Sam Presti says SGA doesn’t seek foul calls with poor behavior
“All NBA players do is complain, bitch and moan and try to intimidate the officials with bad behavior in the games to give foul calls. He's gotten three technical fouls this year. None for complaining. One for waving… pic.twitter.com/jjEnPWLqTS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 8, 2026
To Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense, Presti pulled out an amazing stat line that no one seemed to care about, unless it implicates the MVP in more fouling schemes. SGA drew a total of 415 fouls this season. Out of all those calls, a total of 11 fouls were challenged, but a meager total of four were overturned. Sure, teams only have a max of two challenges in a game (if they get their first one right), but the fact that all challenges on SGA weren’t overturned means it’s delusional to claim he always flops in every game.
Of course, drawing contact is a skill in the NBA. More players and even MVP winners have drawn more fouls than Gilgeous-Alexander did. Fans just don’t appreciate it when SGA does it simply because they are rooting for the opposing team. Even Spurs fans come to Victor Wembanyama‘s defense when he didn’t get a foul call for shoving Jalen Brunson.
Brunson frustrated at Wemby 😳 pic.twitter.com/0xd2HO78NV
— ESPN (@espn) June 9, 2026
Presti Emphasizes Holmgren’s Importance and Development
Presti also addressed one of the biggest issues for the Thunder when they lost to the Spurs in Game 7 at home. Holmgren‘s struggles certainly bothered many Thunder fans. But if you take a look at the Thunder center’s stats in the WCF, it was a bit pedestrian for an All-Star. Averaging 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in seven games while shooting 50% is good for a role player’s standards.
Sam Presti on Chet Holmgren:
"He didn’t have a great series in the last series … but if you go back and look at some of the greatest players in the game, they all have these moments where they run into defeat or struggle."pic.twitter.com/3c6NzhCwmo
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 8, 2026
But Presti, being the optimistic, development-centered mastermind of the Thunder, knows that this is just one big hurdle that the Gonzaga product has to go through, and eventually overcome. To be fair, Presti is right by all accounts. OKC isn’t winning a chip last year without those historic blocks by Holmgren in Game 7. They’re definitely not reaching the WCF this season without him, especially considering that both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell missed so much time in the postseason.
If anything, the Thunder GM is rooting for his guy to be more impactful, take accountability, prove he can elevate his level of play, and help them get back on top.
The Future Ahead for OKC
The road will be long, and the Thunder may not even look the same when they go back next season. Winning a championship is never easy, and OKC knows that well, especially Sam Presti himself. Now that he’s said his piece about his star players, the next big thing is to see what’s left to fix for the squad, and make sure that his players are ready to take on the challenge.
One thing is for sure, Presti is not doing the big 2026-27 run without SGA and Holmgren.
© DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
