A former college baseball player and 10-year member of the Red Sox organization, newly-appointed Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni looks beyond baseball for leadership inspiration.
Toboni, 35, referenced Hall of Fame NBA coach Gregg Popovich and Hall of Fame football coach Bill Walsh in his introduction last week.
When studying the approaches and results of current leaders in sports, Toboni gave a nod to the reigning NBA champions.
“I want folks to look back at us and say, ‘Wow, they are the envy of sports -- how high functioning they are, how high performing they are. We wish we could have it like that,’” Toboni said. “To me, across sports, [there is] no better organization right now at that [than] the Oklahoma City Thunder.”
The Thunder are led by 47-year-old executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti. They captured the 2025 NBA title with a young roster stacked with players drafted directly by the organization or acquired early in their careers, headlined by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“I look at Sam Presti and the culture that he's created across players and staff,” Toboni said. “They had one of the best teams in the NBA last year, one of the best teams in the history of the NBA, to be honest.”
The Thunder dominated last regular season at 68-14. Their record tied the 1972-73 Celtics for sixth-best in NBA history. It was a massive turnaround from only three years earlier, when the Thunder went 24-58 and finished second-to-last in the Western Conference.
John Schuhmann from NBA.com noted, the 2025 Thunder became the second-youngest team to win a championship in league history with an average age of 25.6 years old. They tapped into their young talents, ranking ninth with 23% of regular season minutes played by rookies or sophomores.
“They are still set up for so much success going forward because of how disciplined they've been, how patient they've been, but probably most importantly, the values they've held themselves accountable to and the quality of people and workers they've brought into that organization,” Toboni said.
The Nationals were the third-youngest Major League team this season. CJ Abrams, Brady House, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile are all 24-years-old or younger.
This July, Washington drafted 17-year-old Eli Willits out of Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) High School with the No. 1 pick. The promising shortstop, ranked No. 15 overall by MLB Pipeline, does not turn 18 until Dec. 9.
“It's not just that they're already really talented players,” Toboni said. “It’s that it's easy for me to see a world a year or two down the line where we're seeing a different caliber player in a good way.”
As the NBA season gets underway this month, Toboni will be busy in his first offseason with the Nationals building a staff and constructing a roster to build on its young foundation.
“So many of these guys have such great skill sets,” Toboni said. “Now, it's up to me to hopefully place the support around them where we can tap into another gear for them. But at the same time, it's up to them to hold themselves accountable -- and hold each other accountable -- to reach each of their own potentials.”