A day after the Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to Round 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs, the league announced another award winner. The reigning NBA champions had some vested interest as their representative fell short of bringing home another trophy.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti finished in fifth place in the 2025-26 Executive of the Year award. He had 25 total voting points — three first-place votes, three second-place votes and one third-place vote. The Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens ran away with the award with 69 total voting points. He had 11 first-place votes, four second-place votes and two third-place votes.
The Atlanta Hawks' Onsi Saleh was runner-up with 41 total voting points. The Detroit Pistons' Trajan Langdon was in third place. The Charlotte Hornets' Jeff Peterson was in fourth place.
Of course, Presti took home the yearly award last year. The Thunder captured their first NBA championship in the first year Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso joined OKC. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on his way to back-to-back MVPs. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren had All-NBA seasons.
Running it back with mostly the same group, Presti made little roster moves over the last calendar year. So I guess it makes sense that he wasn't really in the conversation for the Executive of the Year. Meanwhile, the Celtics completely shattered any expectations.
Jaylen Brown had a career year as an MVP candidate. The rest of Boston's roster was littered with new faces who contributed immediately. Being able to move on from staples like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Hofford without a hiccup thanks to their revamped roster.
The full 2025-26 Executive of the Year ballot results can be viewed below:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Sam Presti finishes in 5th place for 2025-26 Executive of the Year
