Sam Presti on luck, leadership, and what really matters
October 16, 2025 | John Elliott
The name Sam Presti may or may not ring a bell.
If not, that’s just the way he likes it.
He’s the General Manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder—a role he has quietly, and effectively, carried out for the past 18 years.
This past summer, after many seasons and several close calls, his small-market team finally broke through and won an NBA Championship.
Presti only speaks to the media twice a year—once after the season ends, and once before it begins. So I eagerly tuned into his postseason presser, expecting him to take a well-deserved victory lap. It’s what I would have done.
But Sam went a different direction.
When asked about the personal significance of winning a championship—a career-defining feat for most players, coaches, and executives—he said:
“I’ve never looked at that as a signal of any kind.”
At this comment, my ears perked up. But what he said next was even more surprising:
“I have a lot of respect for the role of luck and chance and how that plays such a huge factor in all of our lives, professionally and personally. And we were fortunate in a lot of ways this year.”
Here was his moment to tell everyone how much smarter, more disciplined, and more intentional the Thunder are than most NBA franchises. (And they are.) But instead, he used the moment to remind us how… lucky they were?
He went on:
“I like what I do, and I'm inspired by what I do. If I was only motivated by just being able to say that this one thing happened, I think I'd be empty right now. But I'm not empty at all.”
There’s a quiet confidence that comes from knowing your worth isn’t tied to an outcome. Sam Presti seems to have found it. The rest of us can, too.
Because whether you’re leading a team, building a business, or raising a family, the real success isn’t in what you achieve—it’s in how you show up every day, regardless of the results.
Here’s to showing up well for the people under our care today.
Thoughts from fellow travelers
I enjoyed the responses to my last newsletter about re-reading books. Here are some additional titles you might consider reading (and re-reading!) based on the feedback:
Carry on fellow travelers, we’ll talk soon.
