Sam Presti addresses COVID-19, why Thunder fans weren’t allowed in arena

OKC Thunder players and staff took 14,325 COVID-19 tests this season. No player or coach tested positive, Sam Presti said.

When the calculations came through at the end of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder players and staff had taken 14,325 COVID-19 tests.

No tests of the players or coaches came back positive, general manager Sam Presti said on Wednesday.

While some players had absences in COVID-19 protocol, that was because proximity to a person who tested positive or worry that they too had caught it, never because of an actual positive coronavirus test.

“Prior to the start of the season, I said the No. 1 priority for us during the season would be the health and safety of our players and our staff,” Presti said.

“I’m proud to say that as a result of all these people pulling together and the discipline they showed off the floor, we did not have a single covid positive case for our players or our coaches during the season.”

Even while the Thunder succeeded in mitigating coronavirus limitations on their own season and schedule, fans weren’t allowed in Chesapeake Energy Arena during games. OKC was the only team in the league to never loosen restrictions.

The decision to not allow fans inside was announced in March.

“A lot of thought went into it. At that point in time, the state was averaging about 684 cases per day. Reference that with the cases today, and those are roughly around 138, so we saw an 80% drop from the point in point in time we made that decision,” Presti said.

“Clearly, it’s not a result of that decision, but I do think that as the Thunder, we always hold ourselves out to be standing for more than what it is that we do, and I’m proud of the fact that we put our people first.”

Presti called it “tough” to play without the fans in the stadium, but he emphasized that he felt it was best for the community.

“The easy decision economically would have been to open the doors,” he said. “I’m proud of the fact that we acted in what we felt was the best interest of not just our fans but also our community at large.”