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05/06 13:12 CDT OKC's Sam Presti picked as the NBA's executive of the year
OKC's Sam Presti picked as the NBA's executive of the year
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced Tuesday as the NBA's
executive of the year, the reward for building that team into a juggernaut that
won a league-best 68 games this season.
It is Presti's first time winning the award and the first time since 1994 that
the franchise --- which was then called the Seattle SuperSonics --- had its top
executive voted as the winner. Bob Whitsitt won it that season.
Presti, the Thunder's executive vice president and general manager, got 10
first-place votes from a panel of 30 basketball executives --- one from each of
the NBA's teams --- who ranked their top three choices in order. Presti
appeared on 22 of those 30 ballots.
"An award such as this is really the result of our players and their commitment
to our program," Presti said. "They push themselves in all capacities for the
good of the team. I'm fortunate to work with this particular collection of men
and I do not take their professionalism for granted.
"We have an incredible coaching staff and support staff, many who have been
here for over ten years as the team behind the team, and I see their excellence
day to day, in ways that are invisible but invaluable to a sustainable
organization."
Cleveland's Koby Altman was second with six first-place votes, after the
Cavaliers won 64 games and finished atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Detroit's Trajan Langdon also got six first-place votes and was third, after
the Pistons went from a 14-win team to a 44-win playoff team in his first year
leading that front office.
Houston's Rafael Stone (four first-place votes) was fourth, the Los Angeles
Clippers' Lawrence Frank (one first-place vote) was fifth and the Los Angeles
Lakers' Rob Pelinka (also one first-place vote) was sixth. Pelinka engineered
the biggest trade of the season, the one that brought Luka Doncic to the Lakers
from the Dallas Mavericks --- but was listed on only five of the 30 ballots
cast.
Golden State's Mike Dunleavy was seventh, Brooklyn's Sean Marks and 2024 award
winner Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics (both of whom got one first-place
vote) tied for eighth, and New York's Leon Rose was 10th.
Sacramento's Monte McNair was 11th, while Orlando's Jeff Weltman and San
Antonio's Brian Wright tied for 12th.
This was not a one-year jump by the Thunder. Presti and the Thunder brought in
Mark Daigneault as coach five years ago; the first season resulted in 22 wins,
then 24 in 2021-22, then 40 in 2022-23.
But the last two seasons, plans became reality: Led by MVP candidate Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder won 57 games last season and 68 this season.
"I look at it like it's a tremendous privilege to be able to do it," Presti
said at the start of the season when asked about his job. "Eventually someone
else is going to be the person that's doing it, and for me, while I'm serving
the position, I think I've said this in the past, it's not my job, it's the
Thunder's job. I'm just serving the position the best that I can and hopefully
doing a good job with it for as many people as possible, and I enjoy it."
The executive of the year award is not like most NBA season honors that are
voted on by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league
and cast ballots shortly after the end of the regular season.
Awards that were part of that voting process and have already had their results
unveiled: Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson winning Coach of the Year, Atlanta's Dyson
Daniels winning Most Improved Player, San Antonio's Stephon Castle winning
Rookie of the Year, Cleveland's Evan Mobley winning Defensive Player of the
Year, New York's Jalen Brunson winning Clutch Player of the Year, and Boston's
Payton Pritchard winning Sixth Man of the Year.
Other awards announced by the league since the end of the regular season:
Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award,
Warriors teammate Draymond Green won the hustle award and Boston's Jrue Holiday
won the sportsmanship award for the second time in his career. The league's
social justice champion will be revealed Wednesday.
Major awards that will be announced later in the playoffs include MVP (either
Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic or Milwaukee's Giannis
Antetokounmpo), plus the All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
