The Thunder have four players competing in the Olympics as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden compete for the United States, while Serge Ibaka represents Spain.

Sam Presti believes the national team experience helps players develop.

"I think it's really helpful for them to play under different circumstances; it only rounds them out as players and makes them better," said Presti. "What we observed from the World Championship was just the mental endurance that it takes to go through an international competition and the training camp that leads up to it in medal-round play just to get there.

"Just the level of mental endurance that Kevin and Russell have been exposed to and conditioned themselves to, I think has really helped us in our playoff series. That's a real benefit. I think Serge's experiences with the national team, again just being in different situations and adjusting to different styles of play, I only makes him a more well-rounded player. And James now is also getting that level of experience. I really feel like we've benefited from all of the exposures that the players have been given, and I think they're all very grateful for the opportunity too. It's fun to watch them in these situations."