Oklahoma Sooners GM Jim Nagy got a firsthand look at what doing it all the right way can get his team

OKC Thunder laying the blueprint for how to win the right way

The OKC Thunder just won a championship, but they haven't always been good. They went to the NBA Finals in 2012 and have had some memorable playoff trips since then, but nothing too crazy. A rebuild that lasted realistically five years, which is about as quick as you can get for a rebuild, is no longer a rebuild.

Their franchise guy, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, won the MVP, scoring title, WCF MVP, and the Finals MVP after beating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7. But, it doesn’t just start and end with him; they are about as much of a team as it gets. That's a similar blueprint to the one the Sooners are following.

When you look across the team's stats, there isn't really any player on this elite defense that's top-30 in total tackles, and that's because they are one big team. They rotate, use depth, and everyone is good and plays as a team. That's how the Thunder are.

They are homegrown, where they have developed all of their star players, haven’t signed any star players in free agency, or done anything crazy that would be considered a shortcut to get to where they are. They didn't pay their way to the top like a lot of teams are doing these days. The Sooners are the same way, in finding undervalued guys who can play football and fit the same culture.

The Thunder did it with one of the greatest defenses of all time, as did the Sooners. They have done it all the right way. That’s what the Sooners need to do: get back to winning and building it the right way, and Jim Nagy knows that, and he definitely respects that. He even tweeted not too long ago that the Thunder laid out the blueprint for the Sooners.

Seeing the hard work pay off, the right way, with rings and a banner, was perfect for Nagy.

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