Plays and phrases. Styles and swaggers. The story of Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City is all of these and more, so much that it defined an NBA franchise throughout its first decade.
In 2018, Sam Presti was already considered one of the league’s best general managers, even with the trade of James Harden on his resume. Paul George’s ESPN documentary series detailing the All-Star’s free agency then tagged Presti as one of its most confident.
The gamble in trading for George was bold enough. Then, in one episode of "Paul George: My Journey," Presti quoted a lyric from A Tribe Called Quest’s "Midnight" to in trading for George in 2017 when George could easily leave in a year in free agency.