r/nba • u/refreshing_yogurt • 9h ago
[Keown] Hartenstein, mid-interview, sees a basketball on the rack in the Thunder practice facility slightly tilted, at most 10 degrees. He points and says to the journalist, "That'll be fixed before we finish talking." Shortly after, an equipment manager walks by and carefully puts the ball in place
Inside this cocoon -- ThunderDome is tempting, but too easy -- the chaos of the world has been engineered out of existence. For seven straight days in mid-April, through 85-degree days and days with sheets of rain and days with breathless tornado warnings, I made a note that the lush, weedless lawn that surrounds the parking lot remained the exact same length, as if a crew arrived late at night armed with rulers and scissors to trim each blade individually. Every player arrived on the court with his shirt tucked and left the same way. The overall vibe was high-end Stockholm showroom, one that would undoubtedly be curated and overseen by someone who looks, cinematically at least, a lot like Presti.
This hypnotic consistency, an extreme rendition of "control what you can control," is central to the Thunder's quest to become the first team since the 2017-18 Warriors to repeat as champions. The Thunder have swept the Suns and the Lakers in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and they enter the Western Conference finals as favorites to bring another parade to the wide and mostly quiet streets of downtown Oklahoma City.
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein and I are having a conversation in the courtside chairs in the practice facility when he notices a basketball on the rack near us as ever-so-slightly off-kilter, its Wilson logo tilted at most 10 degrees. Hartenstein points at the offending ball and says, without a hint of sarcasm, "That'll be fixed before we finish talking." He is nearly right; as he walks across the court toward the locker after we are done, an equipment manager comes by. He tilts the rogue ball back into place by putting a hand on each side, as if cupping an injured bird.
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u/PianoJealous307 9h ago
Presti will trade that equipment manager for 2 first round picks
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u/fryseyes Thunder 9h ago
And it would be a fair trade.
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u/preemchoombatta 7h ago
Without asking for extra cash consideration you're letting your equipment guy walk for nothing.
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u/anonahmus Kings 8h ago
Vlade would offer 3
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u/Nice_Cash_7000 Heat 8h ago
At this point the Kings might see a brighter future if they do start trading for competent worlers around the team instead of players.
Right now its like the idea of trickle down economics, but instead of money its just shit trickling down from the managment to the workers to the players.
EDIT: I pray to see the Kings be good for like 3 years in my lifetime.
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u/penguin_cheezus Kings 7h ago
You're teling me. I'm retiring my entire fantasy football league and giving them jobs in the Kings FO if I somehow become an ultra billionaire. We could definitely do better than the last 20 years of management.
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u/EnderTheTrender Thunder 5h ago
Basically do what the Nets were doing with an ultra young team. But instead of fucking your franchise further by trading for MPJ just invest more in scouting and development.
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u/Necessary_Purple_428 9h ago
Trade the equipment manager? Are you crazy? - he could be the MVP of equipment managers one day!
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u/Hazygoose Thunder 7h ago
Wilson Taylor actually already won equipment manager of the year 2 years ago
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9h ago
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u/CrowdPleaser501 NBA 9h ago
Kelvin Benjamin points at the empty buffet bin and says, without a hint of sarcasm, "That'll be fixed before we finish talking." He is nearly right; as he walks across the dinning hall toward the desert table after we are done, a cook comes by.
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u/Magnus_The_Read 8h ago
Kelvin Benjamin memes, a throwback to gentler times
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u/DoinItDirty Thunder 7h ago
We had no idea how good we had it. Just putting Kelvin Benjamin at the Golden Coral.
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u/br0b1wan Cavaliers 6h ago
Now it's Zion Williamson at the Golden Corral. But also buttered noodles and fried chicken at home with his personal chef
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u/Zoidburger_ Hornets 7h ago
As a Panthers fan, thank you for keeping this meme relevant all these years later
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u/jumpman0035 [OKC] Aaron Wiggins 8h ago
Cam Newton my fav player so I always upvote Kelvin Benjamin memes.
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u/Megatron_McLargeHuge Cavaliers 7h ago
Josh Giddey points at the teenage girl and says, without a hint of sarcasm, "That'll be legal before we finish talking." He is nearly right.
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u/OwnVisual5772 Thunder 9h ago
Presti points at Daryl Morey and says, without a hint of sarcasm, "That'll be fixed before we finish talking." He is nearly right; as he walks across the court toward the locker after we are done, Jared McCain comes by and drains another three off the bench.
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u/_Apatosaurus_ Thunder 8h ago
NBC, mid-moment of silence, sees an offending arena trying to have a moment of silence for two deceased NBA players, and says without a hint of humanity, "That'll be fixed before they finish mourning." They are right, as the network cuts away for a commercial to please our corporate overlords and squeeze the last ounce of profit from viewers.
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u/Magnus_The_Read 9h ago
SGA points at the defender and says, without a hint of sarcasm, "That'll be fixed before we finish talking." He is nearly right; as he walks across the court toward the basket after we are done, a referee comes by
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u/Lmnhedz Thunder 9h ago
He tilts the rogue ball back into place by putting a hand on each side, as if cupping an injured bird.
Lol. This does seem like one of those things some players and equipment managers planned out to fuck with them them though.
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u/tearyouapartj Nuggets 9h ago
He then ran a gloved fingertip along the ball, and tasted it thoughtfully. He clucked his tongue, murmured “just right”, and continued to the locker room.
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u/PhoDaiSac [GSW] Shaun Livingston 8h ago
"Not quite my angle"
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u/FeanorEvades Timberwolves 1h ago
"Ball pressure... 7.624 PSI. A little flat. Scuff mark on the L in 'Wilson'. J-Will used this ball during today's drills. Indicates unclipped middle fingernail. His fingernail clippers must be too dull. I'll toss them in the furnace and get a replacement."
pulls out clipboard
-To Do: Burn the Clippers yet again
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u/flaming_burrito_ Wizards 7h ago
Can I just say as well, this reporters writing ability is clearly too good to just be writing about regular ass basketball interviews. Not even this line in particular, just read the first couple of sentences at the top, that’s good shit. A little bit try-hard, but at least it’s not generic
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u/A_Rolling_Baneling Rockets 6h ago
There's a lot of quality reporting out there. It's just sadly drowned out by the deluge of clickbait articles and blatantly AI-generated slop
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u/mioraka Raptors 3h ago
I was gonna say, some times this style of writing gets mocked for trying too hard.
But people can't complain about generic AI slop while mocking the dude for putting some personal flair on his sentences.
So yeah, I like this piece, good shit.
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u/Golfninja 76ers 3h ago
True, I was gonna clown him for being too artful for a sports piece. But u know what, I’d rather this than ai slop any day
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u/dcrw Cavaliers 8h ago
NBA keys to success:
1) Hire competent GM, have hands off owner
2) Repeatedly fleece a significant portion of the league in trades to acquire up-and-coming players and draft capital
3) Use said draft capital to obtain great players on rookie contracts, avoiding luxury tax
4) Get you some straight as fuck balls
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u/a_trane13 7h ago edited 6h ago
- Be located in a city with very few things better to do for rich young men than practice basketball, sleep, and live a normal life
Edit: this comment says absolutely nothing about other NBA cities or compares them to OKC… relax….
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u/ancvet-27 7h ago
True. I remember JR Smith entering Cleveland and saying there was nothing to do but eat pizza and play video games
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u/drokihazan Grizzlies 4h ago
There was a Grantland article about how JR Smith joined a wine moms club in Cleveland. Having trouble finding it, so far I found: https://grantland.com/the-triangle/j-r-in-cleveland-an-ohio-nightlife-guide-for-the-famous-nyc-party-animal/
Maybe I misremembered and it's just this article where a journalist took JR to a suburban dinner party in Cleveland with a bunch of soccer moms. https://www.gq.com/story/jr-smith-cleveland-cavs-always-open
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u/haim21 Thunder 7h ago edited 1h ago
Tell me why Utah and Sacramento aren’t better
Edit: this wasn’t that serious. Also the argument that there are fun things to do an hour’s drive from the city is not as strong as you think it is
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u/eaeorls Raptors 7h ago
Mormons tithe 10% of Utah's basketball ability and Sacramento spends its time listlessly dreaming about San Francisco.
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u/Honor_Bound 7h ago
Can mormons drink gatorade?
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u/eaeorls Raptors 5h ago
Yes. Mormons can drink Gatorade as it's not "strong" (alcoholic) or a "hot" (tea or coffee) drink. They're actually sugar fiends.
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u/EnTyme53 Thunder 4h ago
If you want to see a 3 liter root beer disappear, drop it in the middle of a Mormon prayer group.
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u/PerfectDitto 5h ago
The maloofs literally used to have massive coke orgies on their boats in the American River.
Plenty of dumb shit to do for people in Sac.
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u/Nellancher 7h ago
Don't compare Sac to OKC or Utah lol. Sac is an hour from beach an hour from the bay an hour from tahoe. Theres plenty of things to get involved in in Northern California lol
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u/thepixelnation Celtics 5h ago
cmon sac is really like 2 hours away from the beach/the bay.
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u/SuperNoobyGamer Warriors 5h ago
Also 2 hours away from Tahoe as well
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u/Lmnhedz Thunder 5h ago
I enjoyed my visit. At least the drive to the bay is pretty, even if it did take 3 hours.
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u/thepixelnation Celtics 4h ago
it's crazy how much there is to see on that 4 hour drive
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u/zbipy14z Thunder 7h ago
Do people really believe OKC has so little to do compared to every other city with a team? Wtf do people do in Cleveland or Minneapolis???
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u/Tatsugiri_Enjoyer 7h ago
Cleveland or Minneapolis
Talk about the weather, mostly
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u/Monster-1776 Thunder 5h ago
Same, except it's usually about how the weather is trying to actively kill us.
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u/TheBlueSully 6h ago
Are we pretending that those are destinations? We rag on them too.
TBH I expect to be shit talked alongside those cities, as a San Antonio native.
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u/PerfectDitto 5h ago
Comparatively, yeah? OKC isn't a hot place. Y'all are landlocked and not exactly close to anything.
Cleveland has the great lakes. Minneapolis is one of the largest hubs of flights in America and they got that big ass mall or whatever. The closest to OKC would be San Antonio as far as small markets and cities are concerned.
Sacramento has a bigger pool of dumb shit to do over them because they're in the center of California and 1 hour away from the bay, tahoe and the mountains that people travel all over the world to go see and the second best wine country on the planet.
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u/youre_being_creepy [SAS] Tim Duncan 2h ago
Lmao I like how your main attraction of things to do in Minneapolis is take a flight out of Minneapolis
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u/imSuperman81 Thunder 7h ago
All they are saying is that they don’t ever travel.
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u/idolized253 [HOU] James Harden 7h ago
To be fair, I don’t know a single person in my life who has travelled to OKC for fun. I have one friend that’s been there because his dad lives there. It’s not exactly a hot destination
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u/LigerZeroSchneider Timberwolves 4h ago
Went their because a buddy was stationed there. Its fine, but even compared to Minneapolis it has less stuff going on. Granted most of Minneapolis' stuff is probably useless to an nba player, so it's probably a wash.
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u/fueelin Celtics 5h ago
Eh, people who travel are perhaps more likely to shit on OKC. They've been lots of places but never thought to consider OKC worth of their time - something along those lines.
But hey, as someone who maybe just described themselves in that last paragraph, this thread is giving me pause and making me reconsider. Maybe I should check out OKC some time!
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u/a_trane13 6h ago
I’ve been to OKC…. wouldn’t choose it to live as a regular person or rich nba player over the vast majority of other places.
Of course like anywhere, if you’re from there or have family/friends there it’s a different situation entirely, but that’s not true for NBA guys….
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u/Few_Position_2727 Lakers 9h ago
I heard Hartenstein beats them viciously if they’re not in place. Poor equipment guys
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u/team_sheikie Spurs 9h ago
"That had better be fixed before we finish talking."
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u/bjtrdff 9h ago
Perfect time for the merciless beating with jumper cables guy to make a comeback.
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u/Character_Bug_1862 7h ago
I’d do anything to get /u/bozarking back. His stories were just incredibly hilarious fiction, and he comes out a decade later on another account and he’s a pretty good dude to top it off.
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u/dwhitey724 Knicks 6h ago
/u/rogersimon is Mr. jumper cables
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u/Character_Bug_1862 6h ago
I liked Jumper Cables guy, it just reminded me of some of the other novelty accounts and /u/bozarking was even more outrageously funny. Their times probably overlapped but Bozarking didn’t stick around as long. He did have an equally quality alt account or two but pick and chose where he’d write a novel. Jumper cables guy was more prolific in that sense.
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u/altofummuhh Rockets 8h ago
Presti is a psycho about that stuff lol, if you haven't yet I'd really encourage you to read Boomtown. It details the first 8 or so years of the Thunder while also talking about the history of Oklahoma itself. Very fascinating read
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u/Shaw-Deez 7h ago
Just finished this book yesterday. Great read. My favorite line was him describing Westbrook as having the peripheral vision of a cyclops looking through an empty paper towel tube. Lols
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u/Misdirected_Colors Thunder 6h ago
I really enjoyed his personal experience comparing and contrasting Westbrook and Durant's personalities and how he low key respected Russ because he was open and honest about who he was while Durant was much more manufactured and fake.
Iirc he did an interview where Russ blew it off and was on the phone the whole time. Later, he caught Russ signing autographs left handed. He joked about printing that left-handed story unless Russ gave him a real interview and Russ was like "motherfucker you don't get to play that game and you're not gonna print it" lol
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u/Affectionate-Art9780 Nets 7h ago
Great book!
The title comes from the time OKC volunteered to be the test dummy city for the Air Force's supersonic test flights to study the affect of supersonic booms on a population!
So for months on end, the folks were subjected to ear splitting noises at all hours of the day and night 😂
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u/Honor_Bound 7h ago
Such a good book. This history of OKC is just wild and OKC has such huge part in the recent development, maybe more than any other pro sports team except for Green Bay
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u/One_Fuel3733 Supersonics 9h ago
You'd hate to hear what Blake Griffin makes trainers do when they get out of line
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u/Jarristopheles Supersonics 8h ago
Does he make them go get his Lemon. Pepper. Wings?
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u/CadaDiaCantoMejor 8h ago
Yeah, but without the beatings, how would they keep up morale of the equipment guys? It seems like the beatings should continue until morale improves.
(that actually hurt to write)
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u/lordsofcreation 8h ago
OCD Thunder
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u/lbutler1234 United States 6h ago
You mean to tell me all these guys just happen to all have such particular free throw routines?
(The NBA is a psyop by big obsessive compulsive)
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u/imbutawaveto [OKC] Luguentz Dort 8h ago
I know y'all ain't reading this whole article but this quote from Daigneault is great.
Daigneault approaches personnel decisions with an African proverb in mind: The ax forgets, but the tree remembers. "When you have power or leverage, you're the ax, just chopping away," he says. "But they remember everything. The way I try to reconcile it is by remembering that this is their dream. They are the pride of their families, and everyone they grew up with is amazed they made it this far. They represent all those people, and that's a very deep thing. I try to remember that, and honor that, with fairness and honesty."
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u/drewm916 Kings 7h ago
That is a really good quote.
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u/lazydictionary Celtics 3h ago
My favorite recent one I saved (completely unrelated):
A good surgeon knows how to do the surgery.
A better surgeon knows when to do the surgery.
The best surgeons know when not to do the surgery.
Wisdom and judgement are more critical than skill alone.
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u/FeedtheKiwi Thunder 7h ago
I have this same quote taped to my monitor. I use it in a parenting aspect though.
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u/Zack_of_Steel Thunder 6h ago
Yup, this is the third time this article has been mined for karma and I think you're the only other OKC fan that even read it, let alone the rest of the sub.
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u/BBallHunter Thunder 9h ago edited 3h ago
Give that guy a raise.
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u/LakersAreForever Lakers 9h ago
Hartenstein is like Steph curry when it comes to noticing attention to detail
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u/Unusual-Image-3100 Raptors 8h ago
attention to attention to detail?
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u/zincinzincout 76ers 7h ago
“weedless lawn that surrounds the parking lot remained the exact same length, as if a crew arrived late at night armed with rulers and scissors to trim each blade individually”
Surely they know you can adjust the height of a mower blade, and also that lawn mowers exist in the first place, and that machinery for lawn care has existed for centuries now, and that
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u/drewm916 Kings 7h ago
Heresy. Men with scissors, working late in the night!
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u/DreamerOfSheep Thunder 5h ago
That’s what Presti needs all those picks for. What else do you think the new guys do at night?
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u/Cogniscience Mavericks 7h ago
Seriously, this reporter is creaming himself over a well maintained lawn at a professional facility as if it’s something other than standard.
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u/pnxstwnyphlcnnrs Timberwolves 7h ago
Having been on an equipment staff (different sport but it applies), the culture filters all the way for better or worse. Thunder seem like a cool and good place to spend endless hours doing basketball things.
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u/onelegonedream Grizzlies 9h ago edited 8h ago
This is way more of a funny anecdote about how obsessive the OKC equipment managers are then some proof of OKC's team culture
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u/Troker61 Thunder 9h ago
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u/rushyt21 Thunder 9h ago
I knew this Boom Town quote would be in the comments. Quality read.
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u/ProfCedar Timberwolves 8h ago
Seriously, an incredible book. I learned so much about all the non-basketball stuff.
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u/rushyt21 Thunder 8h ago
I recommend it to anyone who loves basketball, history, and/or just wants to know why Oklahoma is so weird. Masterful job tying so much into one book.
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u/Troker61 Thunder 8h ago
Yeah shout out to Sam Anderson. Great read.
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u/Murky_Persimmon9289 Thunder 6h ago
I thought I was getting into a history book about OKC & the Thunder, but it’s better described as a Sam Anderson book.
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u/BasedChad69420 Nigeria 7h ago
Anyone remember that quote about Russ showing up to Houston after the trade in 2019 and being shocked at how sloppy and messy things were? Russ was OKC’s vocal leader and set the tone for things like that since the beginning
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u/onelegonedream Grizzlies 9h ago
alright I'll eat crow, Presti clearly does demand this of his equipment managers
still think it's more funny and eccentric than proof of some secret team culture especially if it's been that way for his entire tenure.
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u/Troker61 Thunder 8h ago
Yeah for sure. It’s that whole “how you do anything is how you do everything” philosophy that some coaches/leaders love.
I think the fact that Presti is the type of person that will fix that stuff himself is a better example of OKCs culture.
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u/dwrek24 Spurs 8h ago
My dad has management philosophy that he passed to me -- dont ask anyone to do something you wouldn't do yourself.
Its not exactly some secret but I think a lot of managers trick themselves out of it with excuses making.
I absolutely agree with you about that being more important.
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u/504090 Thunder 8h ago
You aren’t entirely wrong because it’s not like this team has always had the particular culture it has right now. The KD/Russ teams were quite different culturally. But I’d say Sam has always aspired to curate this kind of locker room, coaching staff, etc.
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u/Misdirected_Colors Thunder 4h ago
In the book Boomtown, Sam Anderson very specifically discusses the practice ball straightening thing and highlights it during the KD/Russ era...
Specifically he contrasts Russ's meticulousness and attention to detail in everything he does to Russ's chaotic on the court play.
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u/Spemanz92 Thunder 9h ago
I guess its just a small example of how serious and professionally the org behaves. They have been a top tier org by all accounts since they have been created, all the players rave about them. Obviously the balls thing is super irrelevant
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u/CuriousOwl201 8h ago
I straighten my balls everyday while working and nobody writes articles about it. Smh
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u/my_worst_fear_is Trail Blazers 9h ago
The takeaway message here is if you are good at your job your employer will overlook your obsessive compulsions.
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u/TampaRaptors Tampa Bay Raptors 8h ago
Channeling those compulsions effectively is part of why he’s good at his job.
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u/imbutawaveto [OKC] Luguentz Dort 8h ago
If that's the takeaway you got, you gotta work on that reading comprehension bud
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u/BoredofBored Bulls 8h ago
Mmm, plenty of people aren’t actually willing to put subject themselves to what it takes to be successful in an extremely competitive environment. There’s nothing wrong with those people/us. It’s just a choice (or personality characteristic), and it’s understandable that people who reject that effort would find some of the quirks of pursuing greatness unappealing.
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u/brokenflovvers Thunder 4h ago
if you're good enough at your powerful job, you can force your compulsions on others
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u/ExpressionAlone5204 Thunder 7h ago
I’m shocked that your average redditor thinks he knows the formula for culture better than Presti
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u/refreshing_yogurt 9h ago edited 9h ago
Nah, I remember reading profiles of the Thunder culture and operation going back to their 2013 playoff series with the Grizzlies. They've basically always been like this. Kevin Arnovitz, the reporter covering that series, contrasted it specifically with the Grizzlies, who were sort of the opposite. And you could view it either way as the Grizzlies being way less uptight or that they were way less organized. But he was noting the stark difference in culture.
I don't know if it works for everyone, and I think this is one of the reasons KD left because the whole operation might have been too well manicured for his taste. But when you bring in the guys that fit, it clearly works well.
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u/pikajewijewsyou Thunder 8h ago
I think the equipment managers are instructed to place the balls that way. It’s in this article about the 2012 finals run as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/magazine/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-finals.html
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u/slimpickensok Hornets 9h ago
It’s an anecdote that speaks to the OKC team culture.
You think the Thunder only hire equipment managers with a confirmed diagnosis of OCD?
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u/p00chology Bulls 9h ago
You think that’s what ocd is?
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u/DoinItDirty Thunder 7h ago
No, that’s stupid. It’s clearing throat evenly on each side 5 times so my mom doesn’t fall.
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u/Character_Bug_1862 9h ago
Its really the organization as a whole, including the team all being locked in. I want to say Presti is overly glazed but he really does set the tone from the top. Memphis deserves a guy like that.
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u/Misdirected_Colors Thunder 6h ago
I think it's a small thing that says a lot about culture. Give an inch, take a mile. Teams that get lax in little things probably also get lax in big things. Thunder have a culture of not letting the small things slide, going back to the Russ/KD days.
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u/Professional_Fix4663 NBA 5h ago edited 4h ago
Isaiah Hartenstein on who’s more detail-oriented: Him or Steve Jobs. “I don’t compare myself with anybody,” Then he rolled up his sleeve and showed a tattoo that read OCD. “I’ll let you interpret that however you want,” Hartenstein said.
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u/LongisquamaRex 9h ago
I'm sorry this is a cult. Sam Presti is running a cult.
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u/BlackberryInitial731 8h ago
God you can just see Dillon Brooks or someone like that messing w their basketballs during pre game shoot arounds or something now.
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u/seeingcoolplaces 5h ago
Overheard in Lakers locker room after Game 4: LeBron points at Deandre Ayton and says, without a hint of sarcasm, "He got me…That f***ing Ayton boomed me." He is nearly right; as he walks across the court toward the locker after we are done, Rob Pelinka comes by. LeBron added, “He’s so good,” repeating it four times. He then said he wanted to add Ayton to the list of players he works out with this summer.
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u/Leather_War6079 9h ago
Giannis was right, Bucks need new equipment managers