Oklahoma City Thunder's Sam Presti named NBA Executive of the Year
Presti got 10 first-place votes, ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers' Koby Altman and Trajan Langdon of the Detroit Pistons.
Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, who made the most impactful move of the season with the blockbuster trade for Luka Dončić, finished sixth in voting. But he received a contract extension in April and was promoted from general manager to his current position.
(And for anyone who may have been wondering, Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, who traded Dončić, was not among the 13 executives who received votes.)
Sam Presti earns executive of the year...Leon gets a second and third place vote. pic.twitter.com/VAtwn9rwFu
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) May 6, 2025
Presti finally won the award after finishing as runner-up in 2010, 2020 and 2024. He has been the Thunder's general manager since 2007, going back to the franchise's final year as the Seattle Supersonics.
During his tenure, the team drafted superstar talent including Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, while also executing major trades, such as acquiring Paul George from the Indiana Pacers and Chris Paul from the Houston Rockets.
He later traded George to the Los Angeles Clippers, which provided Oklahoma City with its current star and MVP candidate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Presti's many deals also allowed the Thunder to stock up on first-round draft picks, which have been used to build around Gilgeous-Alexander with players including Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace.
Under Presti's roster construction, in addition to hiring head coach Mark Daigneault (2024's NBA coach of the year), the Thunder developed into a team that finished with the NBA's best record this season at 68-14.
Affirming excellence was a trend among voters for the Executive of the Year award. Altman was the runner-up after the Cavaliers finished with the top record in the Eastern Conference at 64-18, and Rockets GM Rafael Stone built a team that was second in the West at 52-30.
The one turnaround artist receiving recognition was Langdon, who hired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and oversaw the Pistons' revival from last year's NBA-worst 14-68 to a 44-38 record this season, avoiding the play-in mix as the No. 6 seed in the East.
The Thunder resume their second-round NBA playoff series versus the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Oklahoma City trails 1-0 in the series with Game 2 scheduled to tip off at 9:30 p.m. ET in OKC.
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