Sam Presti and Mark Daigneault: A Duo Cut from the Same Cloth

Sam Presti began his career as an NBA general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2007—as a young, bright-eyed, elated 30-year old to be in that position.

Before that big step, Presti's journey began in San Antonio, where then-Spurs general manager R.C. Buford offered Presti an internship as a video coordinator under former decorated San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich. Rising through the ranks, Presti would ultimately find a position as a vice president and assistant general manager in 2005 for the organization, playing a large hand in Hall-of-Famer Tony Parker's draft decision before making the jump to the Seattle SuperSonics which would quickly relocate to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder.

Throughout his time in San Antonio, Presti elevated his meticulous approach as a basketball connoiseur, being an integral part of the three-title run the Spurs had in the early to late 2000s. That shaped him, and helped him find his path to Oklahoma City.

Presti would be the youngest general manager in the league at his time of joining the SuperSonics/Thunder, and second youngest ever to be in the position.

Conversely, current Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault had kicked off his career in the Thunder organization at just under 30 years old, similarly to Presti, as head coach of the OKC Blue. His success in that role, a five-year span from 2014-2019, illustrated his competence and adeptness as a young head coach in the G League.

Following former Oklahoma City head coach Billy Donovan's departure, Daigneault stepped into frame as the Thunder's fourth head coach since the franchise's move to Bricktown.

Presti and Daigneault's youth have not hindered them. Rather, it's showcased their capabilities as fresh-minded, strong-willed managers in this league. A meticulous, eye-squinting approach has led down to its players approaching games, practices and shoot arounds in the exact same light—and as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently noted of his first time in the Thunder practice facility, it's even spread to the staff identically facing the basketballs the same way on the shooting rack.

It's a mindset, a culture, a desire to have all the little things in order so that, when it comes down to it, the Thunder players can just play ball.

Daigneault and Presti share that vision—Daigneault lets his team flow, he gives them opportunities while framing it the best way he can without imposing himself too much on the matter. Presti builds his team, stays out of the limelight, does right by his current and past players and goes above and beyond for this organization.

This type of mindset has now led to Oklahoma City capturing its first-ever NBA title, and these two don't expect it to be the last.