Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti has built a reputation as the NBA's premier team builder and evaluator. It appears he's acquired yet another vital piece in plain sight.

Aday Mara, the 12th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, had a phenomenal debut Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs. While he played only 12 minutes, Mara made an impact as large as his 7-foot-3 frame. He recorded his first career block on Victor Wembanyama and forced him into a brutally inefficient performance.

On the offensive end, Mara flashed upside as a rim-runner while finishing with seven points on 3 of 4 from the field.

"His minutes weren't high tonight, but his impact was," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Mara. "Clearly somebody we trust, you know, to put him in that game, and we're only going to trust him more after seeing how he performed in such a high-level game.”

Mara is coming off a breakout year under Dusty May at Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to a national title. It was his first season as a full-time starter and he certainly made the most of it, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and NCAA All-Tournament honors.

Chet Holmgren struggled against Wembanyama in the 2026 Western Conference Finals, so Presti went out and got his equivalent of a Wemby Stopper immediately. Nobody's doing it quite like Presti right now, and the rest of the NBA should be worried as the Thunder suddenly have their mojo back.