In part of his opening statement at his annual preseason media availability, Sam Presti spoke about Russell Westbrook's retirement and congratulated him on his Hall of Fame career.
“I also want to take a moment to congratulate Russell on just an unbelievable career, Hall of Fame career. We're very fortunate that a lot of those years took place in Oklahoma City. Much has been talked about with respect to his on-court play, but I think his attitude, his mentality, those types of things also were huge boosts to our community, and I think we're well-regarded, and obviously his involvement today here is still pretty remarkable. So we're really excited and happy for him."
The Thunder will undoubtedly retire Westbrook's jersey and likely will have a statue of him in front of the Continental Coliseum once it is finished, but for now Presti says the team doesn't have any firm plans yet on how they are going to recognize the franchise icon. But as the Thunder always do, they will likely take their time and not rush the process to make sure to get it right when it comes to honoring maybe the greatest players in franchise history.
"I know people might want to ask me later on if we have plans or what we're going to do to recognize him. I can tell you we don't have a firm plan yet, but we're certainly working on that. We want to make sure it's done with great intention, and we'll fill you in when we have a chance.”Sep 26, 2026 
ThunderRoundtable“Yeah, I mean, he's had a difficult road. There's just no other way to look at that. He's been unbelievable with the way he's handled those things at his age."
Sam Presti on Nikola Topić’s status and progress as he continues his return to play ahead of camp after multiple extremely challenging seasons due to his initial ACL injury, cancer diagnosis last season, and back issues over this summer.
He expanded on Topić, saying,
"It's a tricky dynamic because he entered -- couldn't play the first year, obviously, because of the knee injury, which we all kind of knew coming in, and obviously he had the challenge with his cancer diagnosis. Then over the summer he had this back issue that had come up, and he missed Summer League as a result of it.
He's going to be limited in camp, partly because -- and this is a little bit of the case with Thomas Sorber as well. Because they've missed so much time with another injury, when they're coming back from a new thing -- in this case it's a back, Sorber had the scope in July to the same knee, but that's compounding on the fact that they both missed time in their draft year."Sep 26, 2026 ThunderRoundtable It was an offseason of change for the Thunder as they moved on from three contributors from last year's team and, more importantly, the 2025 title team: Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins.
Today at Sam Presti's preseason media availability, he was asked about dealing those players, how they help position the team financially for the future, and OKC ownership's commitment to the team.
“Yeah, what I would say is certainly our anticipation, it's our expectation, but I would also say I've done this long enough to know that certainly things can change. I don't want to sit here and be definitive about that. I would say it would probably be another round of conversations like were had this past summer. I'll do a lot of listening. I'll try to understand where everybody is. Then we'll know what we have to work with, and we'll attack it from there.
I would say that I think the thing we have to balance, and everybody is aware of this, is just honoring the moment and the rare and unique opportunity we have with this particular team and this particular group of guys, because what makes this group of guys so unique isn't just that they fit together on the floor and they play well together on the floor, but it's their connection with one another, which is really kind of where you get the marginal gains with this particular group.
But we'll have those conversations at the end of the season, and I'll get a better understanding of what I have to work with, and then we'll go from there.”Sep 25, 2026 ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable Outside of winning the MVP (which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done each of the last two years), there aren't many, if any, bigger accomplishments that you can make in a regular season than making first-team All-NBA.
SGA has not only done that, but he actually owns sole possession of the longest active streak of first-team All-NBA selections at four straight seasons, and unless injuries (knock on wood) hamper him, it looks like Shai once again should be on the path to make it five years straight.
For reference, not even talking about consecutive All-NBA first teams, but if you just take his total of four first teams, that ranks higher than guys like Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook, who only made two, and two of Shai's biggest inspirations as a player, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash, also only made 3 first-teams.
Even if Shai never makes another first team in his career, he would be in some super-elite company, but I see no reason we shouldn't expect him to keep going as he continues to fill up his trophy case and goes for five straight this season.Sep 20, 2026 ThunderRoundtable Before we have even started the 2026-2027 season, I am already seeing all kinds of people questioning whether or not the Thunder will be re-signing Cason Wallace. Will OKC be able to re-sign Ajay Mitchell without breaking the bank after this season? And will Sam Presti have to choose between Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren?
Enough. Are these real conversations we need to have? For the most part, yes, but I feel like we are too caught up in those theoreticals and down-the-line fears instead of focusing on what is right in front of us.
The Thunder are currently, at worst, the co-favorites to win the NBA Championship this season. They have the reigning and defending back-to-back MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the rest of the team looks like they're ready to improve, and hopefully both health luck will be on their side.
So yes, these are real concerns the fanbase should be aware of, but I hope these big-time decisions don't overshadow what very well could be another great season that ends with a Larry O'Brien trophy in Oklahoma City.Sep 19, 2026 ThunderRoundtable Today Shams Charania broke the news on two rookie contract extensions.
First up, Keyonte George inked a 5-year, $157.5 million deal to stay with the Jazz, and Ausar Thompson signed a 5-year, $155 million contract with the Pistons.
The question is whether those extensions could be informative, as the Thunder likely try to re-sign Cason Wallace to a new extension before the start of the 2026-2027 season.
Specifically, Thompson interests me in relation to Cason as another All-Defensive team member who could still use some work on the offensive end, even if Caso is leaps and bounds a better shooter than Ausar.
Who knows if it will be a 4 or 5-year deal, but if the Thunder and Cason do agree to an extension, it is looking like, based on the market and most recent rookie extensions, that deal is probably going to be around $30 million annually.Sep 19, 2026 ThunderRoundtable The NBA remains a 3-point-heavy league, and whether teams can hit the deep ball at a high enough volume and percentage can absolutely swing games and playoff series.
This summer, we saw the Thunder trade their two highest 3-point-attempt-per-game players from last season: Isaiah Joe, who took 6 a night, and Lu Dort, who launched 5.4 per game.
We know guys will be slotted into the available minutes those now-former Thunder players leave behind, but the question is who will be the biggest contributors in helping to replicate or even potentially outdo Joe and Dort's combined over 11 attempts from 3-point per game volume this season?
Jared McCain is the first name that comes to mind, putting up the third-most 3s per game last season with the Thunder after being traded by the 76ers. Hopefully, he can make that jump from 4.6 attempts up to around 6, where Joe was before, without having to sacrifice efficiency.
He should take the biggest bite out of the pie. Then I think you will see a variety of contributors chipping in, like hopefully Chet Holmgren taking more shots from deep. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, based on some offseason workout clips, appears to be taking more pull-up 3s. Bennett Stirtz is the best shooting prospect in this OKC rookie class. And I expect Mark Daigneault to give him a relatively green light. And lastly, Cason Wallace, potentially in the starting lineup and in Lu Dort's place, should get a few more open 3s than he did last season.Sep 18, 2026 ThunderRoundtable As the 2026-2027 NBA season approaches, the Oklahoma City Thunder recently announced the date for this year's Fan Fest, which will be held on October 11th from 4 to 8 pm at the OG&E Together Square in OKC.
The event should be a great way to prepare for the upcoming season, with food, music, games, and giveaways for attendees to enjoy.
It will also include on-court skill challenges, a mobile Thunder shop with customizable gear, and more, and it should be a good time whether you are a hardcore Thunder fan or are just getting introduced to the team.
For more information about the event or to RSVP, visit nba.com/thunder/fanfest.Sep 18, 2026 ThunderRoundtable Last year was a breakout year and a coming-out party for Ajay Mitchell, who upped basically all his stats across the board, including points per game, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, and more.
But I think there is a real case that Ajay could have another level he could reach this season, and if he can do that, he very well be able to make NBA history as the only player ever to win both Sixth Man of the Year and the Most Improved Player award in the same season.
Darrell Armstrong is the only player ever to win both of those awards, but Ajay very well might have him beat this season if he can grab both of those trophies in yet another breakout season for the Thunder off the bench.Sep 17, 2026 ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable ThunderRoundtable Seemingly, the Thunder have gone away from wings, with Jalen Williams as a Swiss Army knife being the "most wing-like" player on OKC's roster, with a variety of guards and centers filling the rest of the roster.
In the past, we have seen a lot of Kenrich Williams playing the four and, at times, a small-ball five, but with the additions of new rookie big men like Aday Mara and Thomas Sorber, combined with existing established players like Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams looking like they will absorb most, if not all, of the frontcourt minutes this season for the Thunder, Kenny Hustle might need to slide down into a position of need for OKC that would theoretically probably also lead to more minutes for him.
I think Kenrich could absolutely play some spot minutes at the three for this Thunder team as a guy who can guard multiple positions and fits perfectly into OKC's offense.
Plus, in recent photos, het looks like he's slimmed down a bit, maybe to try and increase his speed for more time playing around the perimeter.
Don't be shocked if the "wing-needing Thunder" give Kenrich a shot to crack the rotation next season by sliding down and playing more of the three.Sep 13, 2026 ThunderRoundtable Even though many players who end up in the NBA are one-and-done during their collegiate careers, that doesn't mean they don't love their former schools.
Jared McCain is Duke through and through, and recently he and several former Blue Devils now turned NBA players, such as Cooper Flagg, Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero, Kyrie Irving, and others, returned to Durham, North Carolina, for some offseason scrimmages back at their old stomping grounds alongside some members of Duke's roster for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.Sep 13, 2026 ThunderRoundtable 
