Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti offered a firm public defense of Chet Holmgren on Monday, expressing continued confidence in him as a core piece of the franchise despite a difficult seven-game playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Holmgren's scoring average dropped from 17.1 points per game in the regular season to 10.7 against San Antonio. He scored just four points in Oklahoma City's Game 7 elimination, taking only two shots, and attempted just three three-pointers combined in the final four games of the series.

"He drives winning on so many different levels for us," said Presti. "He's a first-time All-Star, second in Defensive Player of the Year, third-team All-NBA. We were sweeping our way to the Western Conference finals primarily because of his efforts in the Lakers series."

Presti called Holmgren "one of our guys" and described him as intrinsically motivated, pushing back on any suggestion that outside criticism or scrutiny was needed to spur improvement.

"This is a guy that is intrinsically motivated," said Presti. "He doesn't need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement. He doesn't need somebody to nudge him, he doesn't need somebody to question him. It's just kind of how he's wired. So I'm not really that concerned about him."

Presti also cited the doubts evaluators had about Holmgren dating back to high school and college, framing him as an underdog who has consistently defied skeptics. He said he remains confident Holmgren fits within what the Thunder are building.

Holmgren is set to begin a five-year, $239.2 million contract extension next season alongside Jalen Williams.