The NBA’s Most Underappreciated Defensive Talent

While he doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves for the impact he makes on the Oklahoma City Thunder, Lu Dort is one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA.

“He’s such an important guy for us,” said Thunder GM Sam Presti last month. “I think he realizes his function. I think he realizes how important his physical presence his. His defense, his courage.”

Anyone that watches Oklahoma City play knows Dort is a tremendous defender. However, he isn’t yet getting recognized nationally for his impact on that end. He didn’t get a single NBA All-Defensive Team vote last season. The year prior, he finished 16th in voting, which meant he still wasn’t close to making even the second team. Simply based on Defensive Player of the Year voting in the 2022-23 campaign, it appears that once again Dort will not be making either NBA All-Defensive Team this season.

Even with how great Dort’s defensive production is, it goes beyond the numbers for him. He leads by example on that end and enhances the play of everyone around him. This is ultimately what earned him a five-year, $82.5 million deal in Oklahoma City.

“Lu’s an unbelievable leader when it comes to readiness, professionalism, competitiveness, being ready to play every night and the consistency of that. The mental toughness it takes to get yourself ready to play night after night in the NBA,” said coach Mark Daigneault last season. “A guy like Lu Dort can lead through his actions. Lu finds himself doing the right thing quite a bit and it’s put him in a position where he’s built up a lot of respect among his teammates.”

It’s clear that Dort’s teammates and staff respect what he does defensively, but other teams do too.

“I know a bunch of coaches in the league and they all have a couple of the same things they always say and one of them is his name,” said Presti.

Presti went on to say that he thinks that while Dort isn’t driven by individual accolades, it’s time that he gets his credit.

“I want him to feel recognized for that because we’re gonna need him to continue to be that guy,” Presti said. “Our team is drastically different without his defense.”

In his eyes, there’s no reason Dort shouldn’t be considered one of the top ten defenders in the league and make an NBA All-Defensive team. When watching the Thunder on a nightly basis, this passes the eye test.

“There’s some people not watching the games if he’s not an All-Defensive player,” said Presti. “If you talk to the coaches, he’s the one keeping them up at night. He does it in a way that’s so consistent and not flamboyant.”

Just like teams have to scheme and plan for opposing teams’ top scorers, the same applies for the Thunder’s opponents with Dort defensively. He’s fantastic at the point of attack and has the ability to make the best scorers in the league work for every single shot.

“If you just watch him night-to-night or you have to game plan for him,” said Presti. “He’s a guy you have to prepare for every single game when you play us.”

When thinking about the premier scorers in the NBA, they too have credited Dort over the years for how elite of a defender he is.

“I think he has the perfect balance of strength, quickness, speed and desire to do it,” Damian Lillard said this season. “And he’s young. So I just think he is the best at it.”

Several years ago, George Hill was teammates with Dort in Oklahoma City and saw just how special he was becoming on the defensive end.

“He’s going to be one of the best defenders in this league,” said Hill.

In that same season, another veteran in Al Horford gave his praise to the then 21-year-old Dort. Although Horford had spent time playing alongside some of the top defenders in the league, what he saw from the rising defensive star was unique.

“I haven’t really seen many guys who can guard at that level,” said Horford.

Towards the end of the 2022-23 season, as OKC was fighting for a spot in the postseason, Dort put together yet another signature performance. With one possession remaining, he was tasked with ensuring LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard didn’t make a game winning bucket. Not only did Dort do that, but he fought over multiple screens and stuck to Leonard so well that he ultimately didn’t even get a shot off before time expired.

“It’s like he is a wall on wheels,” Daigneault said of Dort following that play. “You are not turning the corner on him. The Leonard play the other night—we’ve seen that countless times in game flow, where it’s like: ‘You are not going anywhere.’ It’s incredible.”

Even though he doesn’t get enough credit, Dort is the type to keep his head down and do what he does best. As the Thunder continues to emerge as a playoff contender in the coming years, expect Dort to finally get the attention and recognition he deserves.