Sam Presti was once i’m ready to be in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday as a untouched elegance of legends is enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Corridor of Repute.

The 2023 elegance contains French cover Tony Parker, a four-time NBA champion with the Spurs and a four-time All-NBA variety.

San Antonio decided on Parker with the twenty eighth select within the 2001 draft. Presti, later a 22-year-old intern with the Spurs, watched hours of tape on Parker important as much as the draft.

“Once we moved through the few Tony tapes we had, getting others was a challenge,” Presti just lately instructed The Athletic. “So, I started something like a black market, trading for them overseas.

“I’d send all kinds of Spurs gear and other stuff — like Spurs key chains — to French clubs and ask for their game tapes. A lot of them were black and white. But more and more Tony tapes kept coming in, and we watched mountains of them.”

Parker’s first pre-draft exercise for the Spurs was once a dud.

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“It was the equivalent of introducing your girlfriend to your parents and they didn’t like her,” Presti mentioned.

However Parker overwhelmed his 2d exercise, and he stored glorious within the silver and dark for the nearest 17 years. A house run select for the Spurs, due partly to Presti’s willing scouting.

Now, 21 years nearest, Presti will keep watch Parker get inducted into the corridor of repute, and it gained’t be lengthy sooner than Presti returns to Springfield to observe former Thunder gamers be enshrined within the corridor.

Because the Thunder’s inception in 2008, the choice of generation corridor of famers to fit up for OKC is staggering.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden — all drafted by way of Presti in consecutive years from 2007-09 — are locks to construct the corridor. All 3, after all, are league MVPs.

After there’s Carmelo Anthony, who performed for the Thunder within the 2017-18 season. Anthony’s very best days have been in Denver and Pristine York, however a participant of Anthony’s stature spending a 12 months in OKC was once nonetheless surreal for a tender fan bottom.

Paul George, additionally on that 2017-18 crew and the only upcoming, is some other most likely corridor of famer. In line with Basketball Reference’s estimator, George has a 94% probability to construct the corridor of repute — the Tenth-strongest case amongst all lively gamers.

And Chris Paul, after all, shall be a first-ballot corridor of famer. The Level God resurrected his profession with the Thunder within the 2019-20 season.

Al Horford, who additionally spent a 12 months in OKC, has an outdoor 12% probability to construct the corridor, in keeping with Basketball Reference. Take into accout, although, that it’s a basketball corridor of repute and no longer simply an NBA corridor of repute. Along with being a five-time All-Megastar, Horford was once a two-time nationwide champion at Florida.

And later there’s the stream truncate of Thunder gamers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander must secure up this degree of play games for some other decade plus, however the 25-year-old cover already has a first-team All-NBA layout on his resume. In the meantime, the futures of Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are glorious.

Suffice to mention, there are extra summers in Springfield to return for Presti.

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