There are a lot of things you probably know about Oklahoma City Thunder GM and Executive Vice President Sam Presti. He was a Rhodes Scholar; enjoys planning, flexibility, and patience; popularized the phrase "Oklahoma Standard;" lucked into Kevin Durant; and will go down in history as the man who pulled the trigger on one of the worst, most one-sided NBA trades in NBA history. (See Harden, James.)
But there are some other things you may not know about Sam. From what I've heard, he's a bit of a micromanager. Ever wonder why the Thunder routinely has one of the most boring pre-game videos in the NBA, featuring blocks, charges, and dives out-of-bounds in favor of exciting highlight reel dunks, alley oops and game winning shots? It's because that's what Presti wants. He wants everything to be about the team and defense, and not the individual accomplishments of the players we pay to see.
Presti is also a musician. It's rarely brought up, but it is briefly noted in his Thunder bio:
An accomplished drummer, Presti has produced three music CDs with all proceeds benefiting the Extra Ordinary Needs Fund at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
An accomplished drummer? That's kind of cool, because it means Presti and I share the same favorite muppet. Is there a cooler muppet than Animal? You know that when Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem go out on tour, Animal always got the best groupies. It also explains why the organization routinely features those boring Thunder drummers.