Sam Presti from Oklahoma City said something three years ago. Maybe people did not understand it. The Thunder team was not good then. Also, he used difficult words.

Presti said, "Work wins." This is a saying from Oklahoma. It can mean "Hard work wins" or "Slow work wins."

It is the same for the Thunder. They worked hard. They worked a long time.

They won every game.

The Thunder team won many games this year. They are the best team in the NBA! They beat the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder have a great player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He will play for them next year. The team will also get new players. Other teams should be worried!

They are young players. The players who start are 27, 26, 26, 24 and 23 years old. They are brave. They can play well for a long time.

Gilgeous-Alexander said, "We can get better. This is fun. We can grow as players and as a team. I like the future. This is a good start."

It's also good that they are doing well now.

Many teams have questions for next season. Oklahoma City does not. Some players are hurt and might not play. LeBron James will play his 23rd season. Stephen Curry will be 38. Kevin Durant will play his 18th season. Philadelphia wants Joel Embiid to be healthy. New York will get a new coach.

Oklahoma City has many good things.

"This team has many good players," said the coach.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren like to play together. They do not care who scores. Caruso and Hartenstein play well for the Thunder team. Dort is good at defense, but some people do not know how good he is.

The players do not care about showing off. The leaders do not care either.

Caruso said, "Winning in the league is hard. Teams can change fast. Players can get hurt. It is very special to win. We will work hard next year to try and win again."

Presti plans the team, but he does not talk much. Clay Bennett, the owner, is the same. Mark Daigneault is the coach. He is very calm and helps the team.

He said, "Maybe they will not finish like us." He also said, "I really wanted this for them. I was very happy they did it. They can feel this now because they are good. They work hard and help each other. I really wanted this for them."

Thunder's trip is not done. It starts now. Presti has many picks. The team can buy a player if they want. And now they must win again.

Hard work helps you win. We still have more work to do.

Presti said in 2022, "We have a lot of work to do. We need to work hard. This is what our state is about. This is what our town is about. This is what our team is about."