On May 20th, 2021, Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti held his end of season press conference that would set the tone for the coming years.

“When we do get back to the postseason,” he said, “We want it to be an arrival and not an appearance.”

Following four straight first round exits, including an unexpected appearance in 2019-2020 — and after the preseason trades of Russell Westbrook and Paul George — the Thunder decided there was no point to be in the middle of the NBA and committed to fully rebuilding. 

Now, bear with me WNBA fans. I promise you this isn’t just a Thunder fan taking a victory lap. I got a point to make.

With that proclamation, playoff appearances were no longer a success in OKC. No banners are hung for a first round exit. The next time they would be there it would be to compete for a title.

It took three seasons for Oklahoma City to return to the postseason. After a disappointing result in 2023-24, where they were upset in the second round as the number one seed in the Western Conference to the fifth seed Dallas Mavericks, the arrival truly happened one year later.

They finally hung a banner for a well-earned championship.

Now, let us take a look at the WNBA offseason and the strategies of certain teams. As we await the start of the regular season it feels like Las Vegas, New York, Atlanta, and Indiana stand above the rest of the league as title contenders in no certain order. 

Then you look at the standings from 5-11. There doesn’t seem to be a real contender in there, but you wouldn’t know it based on how certain teams operated this offseason.