Sam Presti from Oklahoma City said something three years ago. Maybe people did not understand it. First, the Thunder team was not good then. Second, he spoke in a difficult way.

Presti said, "Work helps you win," after the season. He meant, "Hard work wins" or "Slow work wins."

It is the same for the Thunder. They worked hard. They worked slowly.

They won all the games and were very happy.

The Thunder team won many games this year. They are the best team in the NBA now. They beat the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder have a great player. He will play for them next year too. They may get more good players soon.

They are young. 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 be better. It is fun to be better. We can all be better. Most of us are not at our best yet. We can grow alone and together. I am happy for the future. This is a good start."

It is a good time for them to do well.

Many teams have problems for next season. Oklahoma City does not. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton are hurt. They will miss many games. LeBron James will play his 23rd season. Stephen Curry will be 38. Kevin Durant will play his 18th season. Philadelphia needs Joel Embiid to be healthy. New York will get a new coach.

Oklahoma City has many good things.

"The Pacers team is good. They have many good players," said Rick Carlisle.

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

The players do not care, and the leaders also do not care.

Caruso said, "In this game, you are not sure of anything. Teams change every year. Players get hurt, or they leave. Winning is very hard. You cannot win every time. We will be ready to play next year and try to win again."

Presti plans the team, but he does not talk much. Clay Bennett owns the team, and he also does not talk much. Mark Daigneault is the coach. He is very calm and good at his job.

Daigneault said, "We don't know if you will finish like us. I wanted it for them a lot. I was happy we did it, and they can feel this. They work hard, they are good players, they work as a team. I really wanted it for them."

The Thunder's journey is not finished. It is only starting. Presti has many good players. The team can also get a new player if they want. Now, they need to win again.

Hard work helps us win. We still have a lot of work to do.

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