After All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and the Oklahoma City Thunder coughed up a 3-2 lead against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Thunder GM Sam Presti got a lot of his chest during his end-of-the-season address. Amid a press conference that ran over 100 minutes, Presti defended the Gilgeous-Alexander foul-baiting discourse and Holmgren’s disappointing Game 7 performance, among other topics, including free agency and potential offseason moves.
Unlike Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander delivered when the Thunder’s season was on the line in Game 7. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 35 points to Holmgren’s four-point dud stood out the most from Oklahoma City’s season-ending loss to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. For Presti, it’s the pressure SGA was under, as the continuous scrutiny throughout the postseason persisted despite his landslide toward back-to-back MVP awards.
“He’s playing against six people,” Presti said. “He has five defenders, and the sixth defender is social media. It’s a reality. He’s not going to be the last player that the machine decides to target. But nobody is going to handle it as gracefully.”
Presti didn’t stop there. In what was nearly the same vibe as a rapper taking his time before delivering a follow-up verse during a rap battle, the Thunder GM unloaded on SGA’s haters and how his two-time MVP shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as his contemporaries. Gilgeous-Alexander leads with an entirely different aura.
“One, ‘players don’t play defense,’” Presti said. “Shai’s a two-end player. He plays with four or five All-NBA defensive players. Sometimes his defensive ability gets undersold. But he plays two ends.
“Second, ‘all NBA players do is complain, bitch, and moan and try to intimidate the officials with bad behavior to get foul calls.’ He’s gotten three technical fouls this year, none for complaining. One was for waving a towel in support of someone who hit a shot who doesn’t play very often.”
Then, returning to the free-throw shooting disparity, SGA’s name is typically the topic of conversation for NBA players earning trips to the charity stripe. Presti served up another bar in Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense.
“He drew 415 fouls this year. Eleven were challenged — Eleven,” Presti said. “Four of those were overturned. That’s like 2.5 percent of the foul calls challenged. In the fouls drawn, he’s tied with Joel Embiid for eighth in terms of number of fouls called. Six and seven are Jaylen Brown and [Victor] Wembanyama. That’s kind of the group of players he is in.”
Still, the conversations on social media paint a different picture regarding Gilgeous-Alexander’s constant trips to the line.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers issue a cease and desist letter
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) warms up before the start of game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center
Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist letter over Underdog’s “Unethical Hoops” game, which was similar to the Operation board game; however, it used Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL without the All-Star guard's permission. The game pokes fun at SGA’s foul-baiting approach by showing how a defender can’t touch any part of his body without being called for a foul.
This was where Gilgeous-Alexander said enough is enough. Before Game 7, his lawyers’ cease-and-desist letter was perhaps proof that he believed this had gone too far, but he couldn’t finish with the knockout blow against MVP runner-up Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have many regrets about the 2025-26 season, but if he had to name one, he wished he had been more aggressive throughout the Thunder’s Western Conference Finals best-of-7 series.
While giving credit to his Thunder teammates’ efforts throughout their series against the Spurs, Gilgeous-Alexander will most likely take a stronger approach if and when these two teams meet again in the playoffs.
“They played their butts off, and the reason why we got to this point in the series is because the supporting cast was amazing in this series,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game. “Hats off to them. They were big-time. I wish I was a little bit more myself throughout the series, give them more of a boost.”
Fans will never know what the outcome of the Western Conference Finals would have been with a fully healthy Thunder team. It’s part of why Thunder GM Sam Presti is committed to bringing everyone back, including Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Kenrich Williams, all of whom are entering team options for the 2026-27 season. Eager to watch how All-Star Jalen Williams, third-year guard Ajay Mitchell (coming off a breakout season), and the 2025 champion Thunder respond at full strength, Presti has been motivated to bring the band back for one more season.
And that, of course, includes All-NBA forward Chet Holmgren, for whom Thunder GM Sam Presti stuck his neck out in a way a father would speak up for his son. Holmgren’s four-point performance in two attempts in Game 7 didn’t discourage Presti, revealing once again the Thunder’s ongoing battle against “the machine” and the harsh criticism it faces.
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Why Sam Presti isn’t ‘concerned’ over Thunder’s Chet Holmgren
Thunder forward Chet Holmgren poses with his jersey and general manager Sam Presti following an introductory press conference at Clara Luper Center
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Thunder All-Star Chet Holmgren’s timid approach against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals drew comparisons to Ben Simmons passing up an open dunk in Game 7 of the 76ers' 2021 second-round series against the Hawks, a moment that ultimately derailed the 2016 first overall pick’s career. The mental hurdle proved fatal, as the three-time All-Star’s rapid decline led to his sitting out the following season before he was traded to the Nets.
While the chances of Holmgren heading down a similar path are slim, no one can deny he was a no-show in the second half of Game 7. After Wembanyama dunked on him in the second quarter, Holmgren’s effort on offense waned. He didn’t attempt a single field goal in the final frame, shocking, considering we saw a much different Chet in Games 3 and 4 on the road.
Even in a losing effort, Holmgren competed. Going up against Wembanyama in the paint without thinking twice, whereas in Game 7, with the Thunder’s season on the line, he froze. Still, Thunder GM Sam Presti isn’t doubting Holmgren’s bounce back, in which he’s certain the first-year All-Star will return stronger.
“This is a guy that is intrinsically motivated,” Presti said. “He doesn’t need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement.”
For Presti, Holmgren’s drive is powerful on its own without the naysayers.
“He doesn’t need somebody to nudge him, he doesn’t need somebody to question him,” Presti added. “It’s just kind of how he’s wired. So I’m not really that concerned about him.”
Presti’s only worry is how things will pan out during free agency. He’s not ruling out the possibility that Thunder veterans Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Kenrich Williams all agree to the team option attached to the final seasons of their respective deals, which would cost the Thunder roughly $53 million in salary.
In addition to Holmgren and Jalen Williams’ respective max deals kicking in at $41.2 million each and Gilgeous-Alexander’s $40.8 million, the Thunder’s payroll, reaching north of $250 million, would exceed well past the NBA’s dreadful second apron ($222 million) that would evoke tax penalties, while hard-capping Presti.
Draft capital in exchange for a draftee, such as Jared McCain, whom Presti had eyes on in the past, will no longer be available to the Thunder. However, entering the draft with two 2026 first-round picks (Nos. 12, 17) and up to 10 additional future firsts, the Thunder are expected to try to move up in the draft for a coveted prospect and have the assets to do so.
Given his roster depth, Presti is in no hurry to make drastic changes over the summer. Instead, he’s betting on a healthy and improved 2025 champion Thunder squad to enter the 2026-27 season with vengeance.
After All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and the Oklahoma City Thunder coughed up a 3-2 lead against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Thunder GM Sam Presti got a lot of his chest during his end-of-the-season address.