The OKC Thunder received a shoutout Tuesday during the debut episode of Mind The Game, a podcast with LeBron James and JJ Redick.

When talking about the draft history of teams around the league, James pointed to OKC's front office as one with a good track record.

"I'll tell you what," James said with as he laughed. "When I get my team, the teams that draft well, those guys will be working for me for sure. OKC does an unbelievable job with that."

"That's a fact," Redick echoed.

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James has said on numerous occasions that he wants to own an NBA team once he's retired.

The Los Angeles Lakers star wants to own a franchise in Las Vegas, which is a favorite to be one of the two cities to get an expansion team once the NBA's current media rights deal is up in 2025.

"My enthusiasm about being here post-career, bringing a team here, has not changed," James said after leading the Lakers to an In-Season Tournament title in Las Vegas last December. "The NBA will be another great addition to this city."

While he said it lightheartedly, it's not hard to see why James would want to hire OKC's front office.

General manager Sam Presti and his staff have built the best collection of young players and draft capital in the NBA.

OKC hit home runs on draft picks such as Chet Holmgren (No. 2 overall in 2022) and Jalen Williams (No. 12 overall in 2022). It also traded for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, now a 25-year-old MVP candidate, in 2019.

Those moves have paid off. OKC (47-20) is first in the Western Conference standings, and its front office is receiving some well-deserved recognition from people such as James.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: LeBron James praises OKC Thunder front office in his new podcast